Tony Mowbray revealed he let his players discuss the issues at half-time in the Peterborough United win, before offering advice on how they could counter-attack the visitors’ threat.

Rovers were uncharacteristically sloppy in the opening 45 minutes and trailed to a Charlie Mulgrew own goal which came during a dominant spell for Posh whose midfield fluency caused huge problems.

But Mowbray said it was the players who did most of the talking at half-time as he offered some tactical advice on how to combat it.

And he praised his players’ second half energy levels in the victory as they came from behind to secure a priceless 3-1 win.

On the half-time break, he told the Lancashire Telegraph: “We relaxed and sat down for five minutes. I didn’t talk, I let them talk about what they thought the issues were, talked them through what I could see, how their midfield were playing behind our midfield with their two number 10s.

“Once they were behind our midfield it was a problem.

“We had to decide whether we were going to match them up, we’ve played with a back three and a box in midfield this season, or whether we keep going.

“I talked about energy levels. We’ve played against back threes a lot and managed to run them down and basically run over the top of teams.

“We managed to do that in the second half, the energy levels and desire were there from the team and we got on the front foot, pressed them back, didn’t allow the fluency they had in the first-half and ultimately scored the goals and won the match.”

Several Rovers players were out on their feet at the full-time whistle, with Mowbray admitting they will have to rest well prior to Tuesday’s game at Doncaster Rovers.

But he praised their spirit in coming from 1-0 down as victory moved them to 90 points from 43 games.

He added: “We always have to manage fatigue.

“You wouldn’t believe the amount of travelling we did last week, how long we sat in airport lounges, on buses and coaches, that’s why you have some hamstring issues, Corry Evans, Derrick Williams, Adam Armstrong, Bradley Dack.

“The spirit of the team, there’s a never say day attitude.

“You can lose those games 3-0 or 4-0, I’ve managed teams that have lost games where you think the opposition were amazing, try and get back in to it and leave yourselves exposed.

“We could have done that second half. We had to step on them or sit off as their number 10s were hurting us. We decided to step on and try and find an extra energy to press them down as we have to teams this season.

“The team are feeling the fatigue of it but we will rest properly and be ready for Tuesday.”