Tony Mowbray was pleased with three points and a clean sheet, but knows there’s plenty of room for improvement.

Bradley Dack’s eighth goal of the season saw Rovers to a fourth win of the season at Bolton Wanderers to move ninth in the table.

Rovers impressed in the opening quarter and took a deserved lead through Dack, but struggled to find any fluency thereafter.

Mowbray moved to a back three in the second half and saw the game out, but knows his side must improve their use of the ball.

“Not very good performance, a bit disappointed,” the boss said.

“The first 15 or 20 minutes was what we had worked on and planned for, but credit to them, they’re a team who make life difficult, they beat Derby County in their last home fixture having had 20 per cent possession.

“Do you call it winning ugly? I think it was the spirit we have that got us through. It was there on show today.

“We weren’t as fluent as we wanted, we picked a team to be fluent, and it worked all right for a while but I thought the solidity and Evans and Smallwood brought was important and that helped us get the points.

“It’s in the history books, 1-0, but we know we have to be better and we have. We went to Stoke for 80 minutes and were fantastic so every game stands on its own two feet.”

Rovers had to defend plenty of balls in to their box which had been their Achilles heel in the previous four matches which saw them ship nine goals.

A fifth clean sheet of the season, and third on the road, was pleasing for Mowbray though, adding: “We talked about it in the video room, analysed some goals, because we had conceded at least two goals in each of our last four games and it had to stop if we are to have an ambition of winning matches.

“I thought we had to go back to three centre halves in the second half because we were going to concede as they were putting a lot of crosses in to our box and pushing us back.

“I’m delighted with the clean sheet and it’s great to see that spirit growing. Days like today feed the beast, their togetherness, cameradorie and spirit, at times you feel as if its unbreakable.

“We talked about it (the half time change) and we all had a debate and came out with a formula that got the job done.”

Rovers had to survive a late scare when referee Darren Bond awarded a penalty for a foul by Charlie Mulgrew on Christian Doidge.

But the linesman flagged for offside, and the decision was overturned.

“It would have been the fifth in three weeks,” Mowbray said.

“The boys are saying it was never a penalty in a million years, but he was offside.

“I haven’t seen it, the lads are saying it was almost comical to say it would have been a penalty.

“It doesn’t matter now though.”