Tony Mowbray admits Rovers ‘need a result’ as he contemplates his team selection for this afternoon’s derby at Preston.

Mowbray’s squad has been stretched by injuries with Lewis Holtby joining Darragh Lenihan and Greg Cunningham on the treatment table.

The boss is expected to have the same pool of players to choose from as the midweek defeat at Birmingham City, but says whoever takes to the field will need to understand ‘where we are at this moment’ with Rovers without a win in five matches and having fallen to 16th in the table.

He said: “The team have to understand the nature of the game, where we are at this moment and that we need a result. I’m sure they will turn up and give a good account of themselves.

“I like derby games because the intensity is there, it’s not a case of getting players up for derby games – well, it shouldn’t be.

“We’ll go there with a clear picture of what we’re trying to do. But there’s always two teams playing and we’re very respectful of Preston and what they’ve achieved over a longer period of time.

“They’re now a team that would expect to be challenging the top six.

“We have that aspiration as well, one we’re growing in to, having come out of League One two years ago. We have to aspire to that, but we have to have the belief we can go to any team and win.”

Amari’i Bell returned to the squad after injury at Birmingham where he was an unused substitute.

He could return at left back, freeing up the possibility of Elliott Bennett, who has filled during the last two matches, to move in to midfield.

After the display at St Andrews on Tuesday, few players could have any complaints were they to be left out, though Mowbray says there are rarely any dissenting voices when he names his team for each match.

“I think generally this group are pretty tight, together and focused,” he explained. “I haven’t had too much of that this season. They don’t come and knock on my door and complain, they ask questions and I generally give them feedback every day on my thought patterns.”

“I’ll pick the team, as I always do, that I think can do justice. Sometimes that’s a technical team, sometimes it’s an athletic team, or other times a team I feel can do what’s tactically required.

“Within that, there’s only a certain number of players to pick from at the minute. The other night there was only 18 players to pick from. We picked 11 and then had seven on the bench. You pick 11 you feel can get the job done.”

John Buckley impressed off the bench against Birmingham, with fellow youngster Joe Rankin-Costello in the matchday squad once again.

Rovers Under-23s are also in action this afternoon, facing Liverpool, and they could include Harry Chapman, who missed Monday’s win at Southampton through illness, and Jacob Davenport who didn’t travel to the south coast.

Dan Butterworth, who scored twice on his return to the side at Southampton following a back injury, is expected to step up his rehabilitation having played 45 minutes on Monday.

The Under-23s have a busy schedule ahead, with a Lancashire Senior Cup quarter-final tie with Everton on Tuesday afternoon, as well as two Premier League International Cup matches, and a Premier League Cup tie with Burnley all to fit in during the course of the next month. That could offer the likes of Ben Brereton and Dominic Samuel, who have struggled with knee and groin problems respectively, to get some game-time under their belts.

Outlining his options, Mowbray told the club website: “(Ben) Brereton isn’t far away, (Dominic) Samuel’s not far away, but we’ll give them time in the Under-23s before the first team.

“Players want to play, but it’s not an easy job to pick an XI. I see them train, I see them work, I see combinations, I look at the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses and try and pick a team that will get a result. When you win it’s great, but when you don’t get a result there are people who question what you do.

“That’s okay, that’s football management. I’m long enough in the tooth to know that whenever you don’t win games everyone knows the answers and gets the selection right.

“We’ll wait and see what we do on the injury situation, but moving forward we’ll have a team that gives a good account of themselves this weekend.”