Mowbray wants to avoid transfer repeat for Rovers in January

No sooner had the January window closed last season that Rovers, on the cusp of the play-offs lost Darragh Lenihan to injury, and having allowed Paul Downing to leave on loan, won just one of their next 11 matches to fall out of contention.

Mowbray is keen to keep the partnership of Lenihan and Manchester City loanee Tosin Adarabioyo together, having helped Rovers to six matches unbeaten, and says that makes it difficult to attract new recruits.

“You don’t need to hide or disguise it,” Mowbray said of the impact of Lenihan’s injury last season.

“When Lenihan didn’t play for six weeks this season as well results weren’t as consistent as they’ve been when he’s come back.

“How do you guard against that? Do you go and get another top notch central defender and tell him he’s not playing? He won’t want to come.

“Or do you sit him down and tell him that he’s going to play and then when he signs the contract and doesn’t play he feels let down.

“Or do you change the whole formation of the team by bringing a top notch player in?

“For me you have to find the right character, the right personality, someone who understands the bigger picture.”

Adarabioyo is at Ewood Park on a season-long loan, but with no option for a permanent deal, is expected to return to the Etihad next summer.

That means Rovers’ January business could well have an eye on the longer-term, with goalkeeper Christian Walton also on loan, and Greg Cunningham is out for the remainder of the season.

“At this moment we have Tosin who’s doing exceptionally well for us, but he’s not our player, he’s a loan player,” Mowbray added.

“So someone who comes in might be told that they might have to sit on the bench for a little bit and watch, see how we play, enjoy being around the environment, which is what we encourage at the club to become one of the team, and then when we get an injury, they’re in.

“They also know that in the summer that Adarabioyo is probably going back to Manchester City and then you have to become the next player who cements his place in the team. I’m not the guy who tells lies to footballers and then creates a problem for himself.

“There’s the dilemma. We have some talented young players, but I’m not sure at this moment whether they’re yet ready to step right in and keep the team as solid as it can be.

“It’s a fine line at the moment, a fine balance between getting the squad depth right and doing the right thing by the team and by the players.”

Derrick Williams is the most senior of Rovers’ other central defensive options, though Ryan Nyambe has also filled in at times this season.

But Mowbray knows injuries in defence would likely derail Rovers more than other areas of the pitch where they look well stacked.

“In the past we have suffered when we’ve had injuries in certain areas,” he said. “Some areas we can deal with injuries better than others.

“Of course you try and have real good quality and depth in every position yet defensively, goalkeepers, you don’t rotate those positions very often.

“Whereas wide players, central midfielders, strikers, you can rotate them around so it’s good to have lots of them.

“You really need consistency of selection and performance from your defenders if you can.

“That’s why it’s difficult to have that extra defender who never players but is top notch, a good player who won’t get found wanting when they come in.

“It’s difficult to have high quality sitting behind high quality that you never utilise.”

“There’s the difficulty. But it’s something we’re examining.

“Ultimately, can Nyambe, can Derrick Williams, can they be central defensive cover if we need it? Or do we need to get another central defender to come and potentially not play in our team.

“It’s hard to get someone of the right quality but tell them that potentially they might not play in our team. There’s the dilemma.

“We deal with that and see what January brings.”