TONY Mowbray says it’s important to impress on his Rovers squad that they all have a big part to play in helping the club achieve promotion this season.

It comes as the Rovers boss faces some tough decisions over not just his starting XI, but his bench, ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Oldham (3pm).

Only the injured Darragh Lenihan (ankle) is absent and international trio Charlie Mulgrew, Corry Evans and Jayson Leutwiler all returned to Ewood on Thursday.

It leaves the Rovers boss with 21 senior players to pick from and he said: “It’s a difficult choice this week, decisions to make, but what I did say to them all before training is that we have three games this week and my job is to make them all feel inclusive of what we’re trying to do.

“They will all be involved in the games this week either starting or being around the squad and it’s massively important that whether you start the game, or you come on, you affect the game.

“We have to keep the group as tight as we can and keep the 20 players that we have available at the moment all believing that they are hugely important to us winning football matches and we’re going to need them all.

“If you’re not in the 18 this weekend then it’s not the end of the world because there’s another game on Tuesday and you might not even be a sub, you might be starting that.

“Let’s stay positive, believe we are doing the right things and collectively we want to try and win three matches this week.”

Mowbray is yet to name an unchanged side so far this season but with his side bidding for a third straight win he could consider sticking with the same XI which beat Gillingham 1-0 last time out. 

Craig Conway, Rekeem Harper and Sam Hart weren’t involved in the matchday 18 but the trio did play in the Checkatrade Trophy defeat to Bury and their performances provide Mowbray with more options.

“I think if you asked most managers they would tell you that it’s the most difficult part of the job,” he added of selection policy.

“You try and invest in your players, you build relationships, build up a rapport and they hopefully like the work you do with them to try and make them better.

“Then you put your team up and tell them they are not going to be involved and they can find that difficult. Sometimes there’s a balance in your mind of knowing who the three or four you might change a game with and then psychologically maybe picking the last two to give them a bit of candy to keep them involved.

“There’s only Darragh, the rest are just about ready to go and it gives me a tough decision or two to make on who to leave out of the 18.”