Sunderland fell to their third Championship defeat in as many games against Blackburn Rovers

Valerien Ismael praised his Blackburn Rovers players for showing both sides of the game in their win at Sunderland and says greater availability in his squad is behind their uptick in form.

Rovers made it three wins in a row with the 1-0 win at the Stadium of Light thanks to Tyrhys Dolan's first-half goal and while Ismael endured a difficult start to his tenure at Ewood Park, he feels his players are beginning to show they understand and have confidence in his methods.

"I think it was two games in one game," Ismael said.

"The first half, we competed well, we played well, we scored a great goal, played some good football. In the second half, with the tightness, we were more solid, defended well, so we needed maybe more transition in the second half to have that relief.

"I think we controlled everything today. Another forceful performance from the boys, great attitude, great mentality.

"I spoke about consistency after the last game, and we did it again today with a strong performance, so we'll be exactly the same on Saturday.

"Stay focused, we need to recover now, and we'll face the last home game this season, and we want to finish very strong. The weeks we made mistakes, we lost simple duels, now the consistency we've got with the players staying fit and playing together... they are getting the game rhythm we need and we are dealing better with situations. I can now manage the players through the game and that was completely different a few weeks ago. That makes a massive difference.

"I think it's the same as Luton today, we had a great moment and we scored it.,” he aded.

“We know that we were able to find a way to play some decent football and the goal shows again the quality we have in the team. I think the second half from Sheffield Wednesday was a breakthrough for the players now to believe in the work we put with them.

"Then it was clear that we wanted to be focused on our performance, to defend well, but to be brave with the ball and to see we've got some quality."

Régis Le Bris delivers verdict on Sunderland performance in Blackburn Rovers defeat

Sunderland head coach Régis Le Bris made seven changes to his team for the game and though he was encouraged by some elements of the performance, he admitted that the team needs to do more in the final third.

"It's a disappointing result," Le Bris said.

"The performance was OK, it's difficult to say that because the result is the final outcome but I think the energy of the team was positive. They played good football, were dominant, but if you don't create enough chances and score you can lose the game. The final third is crucial. Especially during the second half, in the first half we weren't smooth, maybe we lacked a bit of confidence. It's a good reminder that in this final stage of the season, you have to be clinical."

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