Rovers have opened contract talks with experienced duo Charlie Mulgrew and Corry Evans.

The pair see their current deals expire next summer and both are key members of Tony Mowbray’s side, with Mulgrew, 32, club captain and Evans, 28, the longest serving player.

The two are among the higher earners at the club but Rovers are keen to extend their terms. Rovers have been proactive in tying down senior players to new deals with five having done so this year.

The club are also planning contract talks with manager Tony Mowbray and Ewood chief executive Steve Waggott revealed discussions have already begun with Mulgrew and Evans.

“We have already engaged and started very early discussions with their agents,” he told the Lancashire Telegraph. “Both of those players will know what their futures are going to be because they will want security.

“The manager is aware of it, I’m aware of it, and we’ve started initial discussions and will see where we can get to with both.”

The likes of Darragh Lenihan, Derrick Williams, Richie Smallwood and Bradley Dack signed contract extensions in the summer, with goalkeeper David Raya agreeing a long-term deal in February.

It leaves Rovers with 15 players under contract for at least the next two years as they plan long term.

League One player of the year Dack signed an improved three-year deal in June, with Rovers resisting the advances of West Brom during the last transfer window.

The 24-year-old has enjoyed an excellent start to this season, with eight goals in 10 games, including the winner at Bolton on Saturday, and speculation and interest in the attacker is only going to intensify ahead of the January window.

Waggott said: “We had a few offers for Dacky which were well chronicled and we have to keep our best players and build around them.

“It shows we respect the efforts they have put in for the club, keep them highly motivated and lock them in.”

“I’ve been at clubs where every year you can have more than half of the squad turning over and it’s a big ask starting from scratch and the manager has to impose his DNA on the group.

“We’re trying to rebuild the club to help us progress and with a stable platform of players.”

Under the guidance of Mowbray, Rovers have built a strong team spirit which the boss said was key to three points at the University of Bolton Stadium last weekend.

Waggott, who has previously worked at Coventry City and Southend United, believes the feeling within the group is strong, and that the boss has played a key role in fostering that.

“It is well chronicled that we have an honest and hardworking group,” he added. “I think it’s fantastic the way Tony has got the squad to gel.

“We made a push early doors after the season had closed to enhance the contracts of lots of players to keep them in the squad and we are trying to add in a very competitive market.

“Probably, from all of the clubs I have been at, the squad and their togetherness and the way they work for the shirt, and for each other, is as good as I’ve seen at any club.”