'We have to try and win matches with what is best for this group' - Tony Mowbray on his Rovers balancing act

Mowbray has rung the changes in recent weeks in a bid to guide his side to safety, but has gone with a back three for four games running.

Rovers have kept three clean sheets in those four games, but have found the net just four times in their last seven fixtures.

And Mowbray says his team selections are simply about getting the best results from the squad he has at his disposal.

“I could feel a little bit of criticism about not scoring goals but it’s about a balance,” he told the Lancashire Telegraph.

“I think long and hard about the balance of my team and what is the best way to try and win a match.

“I don’t think we’re blessed with huge counter-attacking pace, wingers who can run away, or central midfielders who go box-to-box and score goals, so we have to try and win matches with what is best for this group of players which is what we’ve tried to do.

“Sometimes when the balance isn’t quite right you draw 0-0 away from home, which I felt was a decent performance and result (at Wolves).

“I will pick a team with what we’ve got.

“I think they’re working tremendously hard, they care immensely about the club and ultimately we will send them out next week to finish the job and win the match.” Going with a back three and wing-backs, Mowbray admits it requires plenty of leg work from his side, with Elliott Bennett and Sam Gallagher in particular putting in tireless shifts against Villa.

And the head coach added: “Elliott got in to some lovely positions which was difficult for them to deal with, and his huge strength is the leg work he puts in when not in possession. He’s sometimes doing two men’s jobs in that position, but I could go through them all.

“They have a lot of ground to cover – particularly playing with three centre-halves as sometimes they can have no-one to mark.

“It was good to have a full week’s preparation and now we have started again to prepare for Brentford.”