JASON Roberts believes Rovers have entered a vital phase in the season as they look to break into the top half of the Barclays Premier League table.

After a tough October, which included successive away games against three of the 'big four', Rovers have started November with back-to-back wins against Portsmouth and Bolton.

Now Jason and his team-mates are aiming to keep that momentum going with further positive results against Fulham tonight, and Stoke City on Saturday.

The striker said: "The last phase for us was really tough with the games we had, so we knew the next four or five games after that were going to be massive.

"We've started pretty well with the two wins, so we've got to continue that now."

Those thoughts were also echoed by assistant manager Neil McDonald, who will once again take charge of the team this evening in Sam Allardyce's absence.

Macca said: "We've had a tough start. We've played five of the top six teams and that is always difficult.

"If you look at it we've taken ten points from the other five games, so that is two points per game which is good form.

"Over the course of the season you probably wouldn't get so many points against the top five, so we've tried to remain positive after a slow start.

"We've now come into our second phase - we normally break the season down into phases - and after two wins on the trot, everybody is full of confidence."