ROVERS old boy Matthew Kilgallon believes there is pressure on his former side, something he hopes Bradford City can exploit this afternoon (3pm).

The 33-year-old defender spent three years at Ewood Park, before making the move to the Bantams last summer, and is expected to start in the heart of their defence today.

Bradford have won their opening two league games, while Rovers have suffered back-to-back defeats, and Kilgallon is hoping his side can catch Tony Mowbray’s men cold.

“There is a bit of pressure on them at the minute,” Kilgallon told the Bradford T&A.

“If they start winning a few, they might get settled into it, but maybe playing them early will be a good thing.

“League One is not as easy as you think. It will be a shock to the system for a few players.”

Kilgallon joined Rovers in 2013 and went on to spend three years in East Lancashire, playing 64 times in all competitions.

He revealed he still keeps in touch with a number of his former team-mates, and is backing Tony Mowbray to get things right at Ewood.

And after a productive summer in the transfer market, Kilgallon says he would be surprised not to see Rovers among the frontrunners come the end of the League One season.

He added: “I can’t see them not being up there. There is just too much quality – but it’s all about the attitude.

“They’ve been on a bit of a decline for a while and haven’t got off to a great start. It will be interesting.

“But there are some good players in that team and they’ve got a lot of experience as well.

“I will be very shocked if they’re not in the top six this season.”