Three goals in the first half saw Rovers beat Sheffield United 3-1 and ensure they are mathematically safe from relegation. Yuki Ohashi’s brace either side of a Ryoya Morishita strike completed a brilliant 45-minute blitz.
Six wins from 14 games under O’Neill have ensured Rovers are safe. The head coach insisted he won’t be celebrating but is delighted for everyone at the club.
“I am relieved, more than anything else,” O’Neill said with a smile.
“Delighted for the players, delighted for the club, obviously. I don’t really like to call it a celebration because at the end of the day, you never want to be in this situation.
“But a really good performance. First half, obviously, terrific performance. Second half, we had to show a different side of our character. We made it difficult for ourselves a little bit, but equally, they were always going to throw caution to the wind and get a reaction, which I knew Chris would get from them.
“It was good that we didn’t concede again, because if you concede again early after the first goal, then it can run away from you in the game. But overall, it’s a tough place to come.
“To come here and win 3-1 is a testament to the players and obviously their application. Because we were so close on Friday night to getting what we needed and then obviously, you have to come and do it again.
“So I thought their attitude and their reaction was first class.”
O’Neill has been honest that the pressure of survival has been tough, especially amid an injury crisis. He was pleased to bring some positivity back to Ewood Park but insists there is more work to do.
“I’m pleased because it was a difficult situation that I came into,” O’Neill said.
“I’m pleased for the club and I’m pleased for the people at the club.
“I’m not sure I rank it. There’s no silverware or anything like that there. It’s not like you’re going to a major tournament or as a national team coach or anything.
“I think the most important thing is that there’s a bit of positivity back in the club as well and that’s important. So, yeah, I’ll enjoy tonight. I feel a sense of relief as much as anything else.
“It’s not something that just comes around on match day. When you’re in the situation that we’re in, trying to get away from the bottom three, it’s on your mind every day and sometimes every minute of every day.
“So, at least now I can go into a game slightly more relaxed on Saturday.”
Rovers have built their survival bid on being hard to beat. They remain amongst the lowest scorers in the division and O’Neill admitted he wasn’t able to change that overnight.
“You come into the club and I think at that time, with the second-lowest goals scored in the league,” he admitted.
“So that tells you that you’re not going to come in and change that overnight.
“That’s, you know, fundamental to probably why the team maybe lost narrow games.
“So the important thing was not to concede a lot of goals, which we haven’t done, to have a good shape and a good structure about us that would keep us in games. That was forced on us a little bit with a lot of the injuries as well.
“But also to find a way to win and where we have been really good is in transition. You have to make the opposition turn the ball over. But then you’ve got to be able to capitalise on that.
“I think that’s where we’ve been excellent because we’ve shown our quality, even in the game tonight. If you look at the goals that we scored, they come from that sort of foundation.
“But we had two or three other really good opportunities that we could have done better with as well.”