TONY Mowbray says it has been a mixture of rest and hard work on the training pitch for Rovers during their international break.

But the Rovers boss is hoping a full week of preparation ahead of Saturday’s trip to Oldham Athletic can be beneficial to his side.

Rovers return to league action at the Sports Direct Arena this weekend looking to make it three league wins on the spin.

They returned from their last international break with impressive away wins at Rochdale on September 9 and Scunthorpe on September 12, and Rovers head to Oldham unbeaten in four games on their travels.

But Mowbray said: “I don’t think the break is relevant really.

“It is good to have such a build up to a game, you can study them, you can set up right, make a really concerted decision on how you’re going to play in a game.

“Sometimes when you play Saturday and Tuesday it can be really difficult to prepare the team because you only have one day of preparation on a Monday.

“You can bring them in on a Sunday and cool them down, get them rolling around on mats doing some stretches or swimming in a pool, but you only really have one day to do some work on the organisation and the shape.

“Is it a good thing about a full week’s preparation? Let’s see, I feel confident that the team can win games in this division and we have to respect every opposition and the preparation for Oldham will be just as it was for Bradford, Rochdale and Scunthorpe and we will keep going.”

Rovers now have just one long-term injury absentee in central defender Darragh Lenihan.  The 23-year-old underwent an operation in September having suffered a stress fracture to his fifth metatarsal.

That is likely to rule him out for much of the calendar year, and Mowbray admitted: “We miss him.

“He’s a huge loss for this football club at the moment, just because of the way I like to play.

“His mobility, power and ability to deal with the first ball – it’s a huge loss for the team. Darragh is still in his boot, still on crutches for another 10 days or so.

“I think the key is not to rush him; when he’s fit, he’s fit. Hopefully by Christmas, he’s back on the grass and ready to push for a place in the team.”