Bradley Dack felt he could have played an hour in his Under-23s outing on Monday night and relished his deeper role in the side.

Dack was substituted at the break in Monday night’s win, owing to the metres he’d clocked up during the first half of the 5-3 win.

He played on the left of the central midfield three, as the Under-23s mirrored the first-team’s 4-3-3 formation. Dack has played exclusively in the No.10 role for Rovers throughout his career, but the 26-year-old says central midfield is where he had played previously in his career.

Assistant manager Mark Venus watched from the stands as Dack patrolled the midfield, with plenty of debate having gone into his role in the side upon his return, given Rovers’ change in formation.

“Billy felt I did well, Mark Venus was in the crowd and he was pleased with me as well,” Dack said after the match.

“I’ve always really played in the central midfield role, it was only when I came to Rovers that I moved slightly further forward.

“Creating from a little bit deeper is something I really enjoy doing, but I’ll play anywhere for the team to be honest.

“I could have played an hour and wanted to play an hour, but the staff and physios noted that I’d done a lot of running and my metres per minute was high.

“We’ll look to build on that, we won’t set any targets, but hopefully I’ll be back in the first team soon.”

Dack had previously played 45 minutes in a behind closed doors game with Sheffield United last month, only to suffer a minor setback with a hamstring strain.

That meant it was over a month until his next appearance in the Premier League 2 fixture at Loughborough University on Monday night.

Rovers moved second with the victory against a strong Derby side, as Louie Sibley scored twice, before being sent off, while George Evans, Max Bird and Jordon Ibe all featured.

“It was really nice to get 45 minutes in the legs, and as a team I felt we did really well to get the three points against a strong Derby team,” Dack told the club website.

“I feel very good about it, we’re not far off now.

“There have been a few little setbacks, but I feel strong and fit again now.

“I used the game as a yardstick to see where I am because they had quite a few first team players.”

Rovers Under-23s are now without a scheduled fixture until January 25, but are in action on Wednesday as they face Huddersfield Town B in a friendly match in which Dack could feature again.

The target set by Tony Mowbray is to welcome Dack back into the squad for the FA Cup tie with Doncaster on January 9, though the attacker is targeting something a little sooner.

He added: “Hopefully we can get some behind closed doors games in before the next Under-23s game.

“But Christmas is a busy period, so maybe I can get myself on the bench with the first team and look to build myself up that way.

“I’ll be knocking on the gaffer’s door to try and get myself on the bench on Boxing Day.

“We’ve half joked about it with the gaffer, but we’ve got to be serious and not rush things.”