Rovers’ 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough was the first in a run of six games against teams all in the top nine of the Championship.

As well as the trip to the Riverside, Rovers face Leeds United and Sheffield United, second and third in the table respectively, in the space of three days later this month.

Boss Tony Mowbray always felt his side were in with a chance of returning to East Lancashire with a positive result having already picked up results at Derby County, West Brom and Stoke City already this season.

And Mowbray is hoping that another point gained against one of the division’s high fliers will stand them in good stead during a testing period of fixtures.

He explained: “We’ve been away to West Brom and Stoke and done pretty well.

“So we went to Middlesbrough believing that we could win.

“What we knew was that Middlesbrough, after their performance against Villa (0-3), were going to come out strong and at it, they had to because the supporters would have dictated they had to get on the front foot. We had to stand up against that.

“They started really well, the sending off changed the tempo and allowed us to have a lot of the ball.

“But we showed resilience. We can get results on the road and before this game, would we have taken a point if you’d offered it? Maybe.”

The turning point of the game came in the 21st minute when Mo Besic was sent off for the hosts after pulling back Bradley Dack. Charlie Mulgrew curled home the resulting free kick to hand Rovers the lead.

Dack hit the base of the post, while Craig Conway and Harrison Reed both had efforts saved as Rovers went in search of a second goal.

Despite enjoying plenty of territory and possession, Rovers couldn’t find a late winner after Britt Assombalonga drew the hosts level just after the half hour mark.

And coming up against the team with the best defensive record in the division, Mowbray knew finding a way through was always going to be a difficult task.

“It was a great free kick,” he said of Mulgrew’s goal.

“It’s very hard to score against Middlesbrough whether you’ve got 10 men or 11 men. Everyone knows their defensive record, the statistics are there for all to see.

“However much possession you have or however many times you move the ball around their box you have to be very good to score against them.”

Mowbray was back at the Riverside for the first time since being sacked in October 2013.

A legend on his native Teesside after 425 appearances as a player, he added: “Boro is always close to my heart. I live on Teesside, my kids go to school here.

“I always look for their result, I come along on a Tuesday or a Wednesday if we’re playing on the opposite day.

“Maybe 1-1 was the right result, we just feel frustrated that we didn’t get three points because for our club three points on the road is massive.”