Rovers face the Championship’s form team tomorrow afternoon, a fact not lost on boss Tony Mowbray.

Wigan have won four and drawn one of their last five matches without conceding, and taken 21 points from the last 30 available to ease their relegation fears.

In doing so they have climbed to 17th, three points above the dropzone, and re-started their season with victory at Huddersfield Town last weekend.

The two teams have recent history, having been relegated and promoted together in the 2016/17 and 2017/18 campaigns respectively. However, Rovers haven’t won on their last 10 visits to the DW Stadium, but travel knowing a win could move them in to the top six for the first time this season.

“I’ve watched their last home game to Luton, 0-0, but I know enough about Paul (Cook) and how his team operates, they have a lot of good footballers,” Mowbray said.

“They had a way of playing, changed it, went back to what they’re good at, and now they’re playing a bit more direct again.

“They have big Kieffer Moore up top and they’re getting results.

“We have to be very mindful of that, they haven’t conceded in five games and won four of them so it’s a tough game for us but one we’ll go to with confidence and belief and know if we play well we can create chances and if we take them, we can win.”

Following the trip to Wigan for Rovers is a visit to second-bottom Barnsley, who were also victorious last week with an impressive 1-0 win at QPR.

With top two Leeds United and West Brom on the horizon, Mowbray is viewing the tests against the struggling pair just as the same as the Premier League bound sides.

He added: “As a professional I don’t sit here and think Wigan and Barnsley are any less difficult than Leeds United and West Brom who we have coming up.

“I genuinely feel these are really tough football matches.

“I think the people who don’t live their lives doing what we do look at tables and think ‘they will beat them and beat them’. We can beat them, but we can also lose to them, as we have over recent years.

“We will prepare the best we can and then see where it takes us.

“I don’t look too far ahead, we’ll go to Wigan and give them a tough game I’m sure, but we know they’ll do the same to us.

“Are they the top form team in the league? My analysts are telling me no goals conceded in five, four wins and a draw, that’s the evidence.

“We know what to expect and we go in to with confidence, belief, our group are in a good place mentally, they see an opportunity, we just have to find some consistency and results and who knows.”

Ready to renew the rivalry, Mowbray added: “Cooky is a great guy, a great manager, with a love of football and their recent form is very, very impressive, probably top of the form guide.

“Never mind Leeds and West Brom, they have won four and drawn one of their last five without conceding. Disregarding their form and league position it would have been a tough game anyway, we know that it would always be a tough game for us.

 “We’ve been on a journey with Wigan the three years I’ve been here.

“We both found ourselves in League One and managed to find a way out of League One and then have managed to consolidate.”