Tony Pulis believes Rovers counterpart Tony Mowbray deserves credit for his work as Boro boss ahead of his first return to the Riverside.

Mowbray spent three years in charge of Boro, before being sacked in October 2013, having also served the club as a player for over a decade.

The Rovers boss hasn’t been back as a manager since, and feels he is returning to a club with different aspirations now to when he was in charge, after Gordon Strachan was sacked.

Pulis said: “I know Tony quite well. He’s done good jobs wherever he’s gone.

“He’s a good man and a good football man as well. I just think, when you look at it, he didn’t get the credit he deserved at this football club because he took over in very, very difficult circumstances.

“There was a lot of money spent on a lot of players that just didn’t settle into the group and Tony had to pick the pieces up and put the club back on course.

“You talk to some people and they don’t recognise it and don’t realise it because it’s all about results but there’s something more to management at times than just results.

“If you look back with a much more open mind he did a very, very good job here.”

Mowbray led Rovers to promotion from League One last season and they sit 10th in the Championship with 20 games played.

On his job at Ewood, Pulis added: “Blackburn have done well this season. They’ve got some good players and he has got what he wanted in lots of ways.

“They have (Danny) Graham, (Bradley) Dack, good players. They’re not where they are by being an average team. “

“Tony is a football man and it’ll be nice to see him.”