Last Updated: Wed, 13 Feb 2013 11:06
Boss Michael Appleton felt Blackburn's 1-1 draw with Brighton was the perfect test for his team ahead of their FA Cup clash at Arsenal
Scott Dann headed Blackburn in front against the run of play mid-way through the first half but a second half penalty from Spanish playmaker Vicente rescued a point for the Seagulls.
His spot-kick was the first goal Blackburn had conceded in five-and-a-half hours of playing time.
"It's an ideal warm-up, Appleton said. "We'll have to concede a lot of territory against Arsenal but we want to be part of an attractive tie.
"Our quality was not a good as when we played Ipswich last Saturday but, as the away side, we're bound to be a lot happier with the result than Brighton."
Appleton described the penalty his men gave away as a "bit harsh" and suggested Rovers were unfortunate not to have been awarded a spot-kick themselves when defender Adam El-Abd appeared to handle.
"The penalty (against) was a bit harsh as the ball hit Markus Olsson's thigh before it went to his hand," he said. "Before that, El-Abd made the best save of the night. It was very disappointing.
"But six or seven weeks ago we would have lost a game like that 4-1 or 5-1. There's more about us now. We had to deal with a lot of balls in the box and we showed a lot of steel"
Appleton insists he is not getting too caught up with launching a play-off challenge at this stage, adding: "It would be different if we had six games to play, but we have 15 matches to go with a lot to play this month.
"We are a work in progress at the minute. Our work ethic not to lose is good and important and we have enough quality to win away games."
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