IT IS no surprise to hear Tony Mowbray say that he’s looking to add a striker with some speed to his squad, writes Simon Garner.

You need a player up front who has pace and the ability to run in behind as it enables you as a team to mix things up.

A lot of teams nowadays play with just one striker, but I have always preferred a pairing.

Having two strikers up there puts more pressure on the opposition defenders as they than have more than just one player to think about.

If you have got the option for one player to drop short, and another to go in behind, it creates more problems for defenders.

Just having a big target man up front can become easier to defend against.

I think Rovers need another striker as well, you want at least three senior strikers.

That will give Mowbray plenty of options, and with the strength in depth in midfield they have got given their summer signings, it means they can go for five in midfield when playing away from home if they want to.

A lot of teams who come to Ewood Park will give them a lot of respect and sit back and defend.

That is why having the option to play two strikers up front is key.

What will also be important when paying at home is getting an early goal - that will make all the difference.

If they can, it will mean that teams will have to come out and play a bit more and in turn could help Rovers create more chances.

Rovers have been installed as favourites for League One by the bookmakers and it is up to them to show why.

They will need to get off to a really good start and that will make the other teams in the league sit up and take notice.

They will certainly be seen as the team to beat for most in the league who will want to get a result against them so it will be tough.

Mowbray is the sort of man that will thrive on such pressure and he will want to get that message across to his players.

Their mentality will need to shift from that of battling relegation to being favourites for promotion.

That is all down to confidence.

When you’re down near the bottom then it can affect your belief – you get the sense that everything is against you.

A good start to the season will certainly help with that.

Mowbray gave 45 minutes to all of his squad in the pre-season win at Barrow at the weekend and that’s what it’s all about at this stage, fitness.

Work on patterns of play will come in time, but the manager will just be looking for all his squad to come through injury free.