Adam Armstrong could have held his own goal of the season prize last season, eventually winning it for his 45-yard strike at Cardiff City.

His three finishes in the win against Wycombe, which secured him his second career hat-trick, combined wouldn’t have reached that distance, and Armstrong admits those types of goals are what will push up his tally. After scoring 17 in all competitions last season he’s up to five already this, and with seven goals in his last five starts, he’s playing with the upmost confidence.

He managed his first Rovers hat-trick having scored twice on five occasions, and feels playing in his favoured centre forward position that the goals will continue to come.

“I haven’t scored a lot of tap-ins and that’s about getting into the right areas in the box and it was brilliant to get those breakaway goals in and around the box,” he said.

“I feel fitter, I’ve worked hard in pre-season and looked to get better from last season.

“It’s been brilliant, I’ve said it before that I’m confident I can score goals wherever I play.

“I showed that last season and I’ve had a good start in the first couple of games so hopefully I can keep that form up and keep scoring.”

He tucked home a 14th minute penalty, his second of the campaign at the Blackburn End, and double his tally with a close-range finish at the end of a sweeping move.

A one-on-one saw him complete his hat-trick, with John Buckley the provider, but a similar chance soon after, saved by goalkeeper Ryan Allsop, was playing on his mind after the match.

“I should have had four, but never-mind,” he added.

“It’s a massive three points, the last couple of games we felt we should have got something from them, we played really well, but to get three points and a 5-0 win is just how we wanted to bounce back.

“If you look at the Bournemouth and Newcastle games I thought we were excellent, that’s football, and we’re trying to add that quality to our game in the final third, create a lot more chances, score more goals and it paid off.”

There was frustration in the ranks after back-to-back defeats at Bournemouth and Newcastle where Rovers were unable to make their dominance with the ball count.

Three of their goals against Wycombe came from the turnover of possession, with the third in particular a fine move finished off by Armstrong.

While Tony Mowbray doesn’t see that as the side’s main threat, the 23-year-old feels they have that ability in their locker given the pace in the forward areas, boosted by the inclusion of youngster Tyrhys Dolan.

“We know we’ve got pace in the side and can really hurt teams on the transition and that was the perfect example of doing it,” Armstrong said of his second goal. “It was a lovely ball from Rothwell and a nice tap-in for me.

“We could have had more, I think a lot of the forwards had chances, and glimpses, and it could have been six or seven.

“We have to give a shout-out to the defence, I thought they were brilliant dealing with the long ball. We knew they were coming before the game and I thought we were excellent.”

Armstrong may have walked away with the matchball, but the headlines were stolen by 18-year-old Dolan, who scored on his first league start, only a week after his first ever senior appearance. It’s been quite a rise for the fleet-footed winger since his release by Preston, with Rovers moving into sign him to a professional deal having impressed in the FA Youth Cup tie between the sides.

Armstrong was among the spectators on that night in March where Dolan scored and followed it up with the same trademark somersault celebration.

“I’d seen him in the Youth Cup for Preston, I came to that game, and he stood out massively then,” Armstrong said.

“I was pretty shocked that he got released, but it’s a massive bonus for us, he’s come in and shown what he can do and he looks very sharp and I’m buzzing for him to get his goal. It will do a lot for his confidence being such a young lad.

“We’ve seen it in training from day one, I’m not shy to say all the lads have seen quality in him. He came through at Man City so he’s had a good growing up and we need to help him and keep his confidence high.”