ROVERS new boy Peter Whittingham has revealed that Tony Mowbray's football philosophy played a key role in attracting him to Ewood Park.

The 32-year-old has put pen to paper on a two-year deal and becomes Ewood boss Tony Mowbray's first signing, joining on a free transfer from Cardiff City.

The Lancashire Telegraph revealed earlier this week that Rovers were confident of securing a deal for the former Aston Villa man who had interest from Championship clubs plus a new offer from the Bluebirds.

And Whittingham said he was excited to work under Mowbray and play his part in mounting a promotion challenge when the League One season gets under way in August.

He said: "“I spoke to the manager a couple of times and it was a case of he wants to play football and that's what I want to do.

“He (Mowbray) said ‘I want you on the ball, creating goals and scoring a few goals and just helping out the team’, which is obviously what I want to do.

“I'm not one of those lads who likes seeing the ball whacked about and stuff, it's a case of I want that ball on the ground and that's basically what the manager said to me – we're going to get it down and play and we’re going to try and win the league, which is exactly what I want to hear.”

Whittingham added that the chance to be challenging for honours - albeit in League One - along with the size and facilities at Rovers, was another reason behind his decision to end a 10-year stay in South Wales.

“I’m really pleased to be here,” he added. “I was at Cardiff for a long time, but I felt like I needed this. I just wanted a fresh challenge and I feel like this is perfect for me. I’m excited.

“Just being around the training ground, you see what a huge club it is. It's an amazing club and it definitely shouldn't be in League One, so it’s up to us and everyone to get us out of here and get us back in the Championship.

“It could be exciting – being in and around the top six, and hopefully the top two. I just want to enjoy my football and hopefully enjoy the results.”

Whittingham made 37 appearances for the Bluebirds last season, scoring seven goals, but found his playing time limited towards the end of the campaign, having not completed 90 minutes since mid-March.

He made more than 450 appearances for Cardiff since joining the club in 2007, scoring 98 goals, and became a firm fans favourite with City supporters.

He began his career at Villa Park and spent time on loan with Burnley and Derby County before moving to Cardiff.

Mowbray had identified the middle of midfield as a key area to strengthen having released Jason Lowe, Hope Akpan and Danny Guthrie at the end of last season while Corry Evans is currently out injured.