BLACKBURN Rovers boss Gary Bowyer will be out to prove that bigger is better when his side visit Bradford City in pre-season friendly action tomorrow afternoon.

The Rovers chief is set to pair new signing Chris Brown with Rudy Gestede up front in as he goes for power against League One opponents.

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Neither of the target men have featured from the start so far this summer with Brown struggling with injury and Gestede travelling to Africa on international duty with Benin.

But both are back in the frame for tomorrow’s trip across the Pennines, along with defender Tommy Spurr, and boss Bowyer is excited at the prospect of trying another front pairing.

The Rovers chief said: “I see all three of them (Rudy Gestede, Chris Brown, Tommy Spurr) featuring on Saturday so we’re looking forward to that.

“It will be good to get used to playing with a big man again, whether it be Browny or Rudy, and like I say that gives us the flexibility to play with another style.

“It should be another good game against Bradford. It’s all been planned to where we start and where we finish and we finish pre-season at home to Stoke City, a Premiership side.

“We know we’ve got to keep on improving but everything is going nicely at the moment and over the next couple of weeks we’ll step it up even more.”

Bowyer can of course also call on the services of Jordan Rhodes and Luke Varney in what has the makings of a very competitive front line.

But, with the start of the Championship season now just three weeks away, the Rovers boss is being careful to manage his squad ahead of the Ewood Park opener against Cardiff City.

And with that in mind he was pleased his side came through the midweek draw with Accrington Stanley – and a behind-closed-doors game with Rochdale earlier in the day – unscathed.

Bowyer added: “There were no injuries and that’s brilliant, a massive plus for us that people come off the pitch fine and you’ve just got to hope they wake up tomorrow morning and feel the same.

“There were no injuries from the behind-closed-doors game either. That was another very good workout for us. Everybody got 60 to 65 minutes, and maybe more, in one day, which was all part of the plan, and now we’ll step it up again.”

Rovers twice came from behind in the draw with Stanley with David Dunn and Tom Cairney on the scoresheet.

And Bowyer said he was pleased with the workout his first team squad got at the Store First Stadium in a keenly-contested encounter.

“It was important for the lads to step up their fitness levels and a lot of them had 65 to 70 minutes, which was planned,” said Bowyer

“That’s the most important thing and it was a good workout. It was a good attendance and good service.

“It’s about building relationships again and getting that timing right as we get closer to the Cardiff game. “Accrington were good opponents and you saw the spirit that they have