TONY Mowbray wants Rovers to ride their promotion momentum into the Championship next season.

Rovers sign off their League One campaign with a home game against Oxford United tonight (5.30pm) with an outside chance of lifting the title.

Mowbray’s men need to claim three points and hope Wigan lose at Doncaster to leapfrog the Latics but regardless of where his side finish, the Ewood chief is keen to keep the feelgood factor up over the summer.

“At this moment things are on the up and we have to try and use the momentum,” he said.

“I’ve talked about going to India over the next few weeks and keeping that momentum going forward so that the fans of our club throughout the season see some signings that make them a little bit excited and they can’t wait for the pre-season games to start and seeing so-and-so in a blue and white shirt.

“Hopefully season ticket sales go well and the support base realise we’re all trying to work hard together and move the club forward.

“That’s the hope, let’s wait and see how it plays out. Hopefully the support from the owners will be there again during our conversations on the pitch and the evidence will be how we recruit for next summer. how strong we look before the season starts.”

Rovers will be returning to the second tier after a one-year absence and, although Mowbray acknowledges the Championship will be packed with quality sides, he is hoping to see his side do more than just survive.

He added: “I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I don’t envisage us challenging the top two in the Championship but I just want the team to be competitive in every game.

“I want to give the fans a team that win, lose or draw, they can see a team that are giving everything to try and get a result on any given Saturday.”

And Mowbray believes the hard work off the scenes has helped contribute to a successful season at Ewood Park, something he hopes will continue moving forward.

The Rovers boss praised the impact made by new Chief Executive Steve Waggott since his appointment in December and believes the club is one firmly on the up.

“Steve Waggott has come in and is working extremely hard behind the scenes,” Mowbray added.

“I met him yesterday for a meeting on the plans for the summer, what we’re doing pre-season, what we’re doing at the end of the season.

“He’s putting in amazing of hours working in and I’m sure there’s a lot of people at Ewood who are working hard to try and make Saturday an enjoyable day for everyone.

“As is always the case the most important thing is for the lads on the grass to try and perform to win the match and make it an enjoyable match for everyone.

“The club are working hard behind the scenes, it helps with a winning team of course, that helps in all areas whether it be marketing, sales, the subsidiary areas that help drive the business.

“The better they do the more money there is to invest in the team on the pitch and if the team is doing well then there’s more revenue streams and it creates an upward spiral of success as opposed to what we’ve seen for a while which is a downward spiral of no success.”