Tony Mowbray says he will continue to be honest in transfer negotiations, even if it may not work in Rovers’ favour.

The Rovers boss admits he ‘not a great negotiator’ and has walked away from several deals this month when figures have become unattainable. 

Mowbray is keen to add depth to his squad that has been hit by injuries to key players, with Joe Rothwell becoming the latest name on the absentee list.

Rovers have until 11pm on Friday to sign players, but whether new recruits materialise or not, Mowbray says he has faith in his current group, and the young players coming through, to push on in the remaining 17 games.

The manager says his focus has to be on preparing his team for the weekend trip to Middlesbrough, but could stay in East Lancashire when the team bus departs for Teesside on Friday afternoon should deals still be possible in the final hours of the window.

He said: “As a manager sometimes you have to come in at the end, other people are running around with phones to their ears, I’m trying to prepare the team for Middlesbrough and trying to make sure we get the selection right and the team know all about the opposition, the normal preparations.

“If I need to push the button, or have a photo taken or shake the hand of a new signing, then that’ll be great. If not, we’ll keep pushing on.

“It seems to fluctuate. I was pretty sure that coming in (on Thursday) we’d be making a signing but that doesn’t mean tomorrow we won’t.

“I’m not a great negotiator, I like to be honest and tell people what I think things are worth. If I don’t want to do it, I’m not coming back with another price.

“But that’s probably naïve, the world is all about ‘you’ve offered that but we know that you’ve got another two or three offers coming’.

“I don’t work like that, sometimes I’ll walk away from something. We’ll see.

“I’ve got to have faith and confidence in the group we’ve got, all we’re trying to do is add some depth.

“We’re not looking to replace anyone in our team, if we can keep the team fit, we’ve had long discussions about trying to get the training right to make sure we have as few non-contact injuries as possible.

“If we can add a few players then great, but if not and we pick up a few injuries then there will be opportunities for young players to come in and make a mark.”