Steve Waggott believes Rovers are in a position to press on with their transfer targets – and hopes the squad can mostly be in place ahead of next month’s pre-season trip to Austria.

Rovers return to pre-season training on June 24 when they head to Europe for a week-long training camp.

Waggott feels the trip will be vital in integrating the club’s new recruits into the squad and maintaining the strong team spirit which was vital to this season’s promotion.

Rovers have until August 9 to make permanent signings, with a cut-off point of August 31 for loan deals.

But Ewood CEO Waggott, who oversaw a productive January window, hopes to see activity concluded before then if possible.

He said: “It’s always great (to get it done early) so when the squad returns on June 24 it’s virtually complete.

“They can gel when they go off to Austria on their pre-season tour and then we have a whole range of good pre-season friendlies, a couple of which are yet to be announced at Ewood Park.

“It’s important to get them in early so they can integrate into the team and the success of last season was built on the cohesion among the squad.

“I’m sure Tony (Mowbray) will be looking at the DNA of the players he wants to bring in and make sure they integrate into the ethos and culture he has delivered in the 15 months he has been with the club.”

Mowbray has stated he is looking to add young, hungry players to his ranks as Rovers prepare for life back in the Championship.

Following talks with owner’s Venky’s, Waggott says there is money to add both ‘depth and quality’ to the squad.

Mowbray is currently away on a family holiday but Waggott says that won’t stop the club’s recruitment drive.

And he believes Rovers are an attractive proposition to players given their success in 2017/18.

He added: “Every transfer window is important. I think it takes four or five windows for a manager to give him the time to build a squad he really wants.

“On the back of the success from the League One campaign it’s key to keep the momentum going.

“You always buy when you’re on top because you attract more players, so we have a lot of targets on the go at the moment.

“Tony has met agents, and since coming back from India I have been in discussion with agents.

“It’s a key window and we know this league is going to be a step up in competition. Half the league are virtually a Premier League 2 league with the parachute payments they have got which we have to be aware of.

“We need to be smart and get our targets and we’re ready to go now.

“We’ve identified some, are in discussions and, as Tony has inferred, he’s going to have a well-deserved break but he will still be on the phone every day because he lives, breathes and talks football so there’s no rest.

“We will keep cracking on and look to move things forward as quickly as possible.”

Rovers have been linked with Nottingham Forest midfielder Ben Osborn and out-of-contract Walsall man Erhun Oztumer but neither players is on the club’s radar at this stage.