Rovers face ‘key decisions’ regarding contracts in the coming months.

That’s the view of manager Tony Mowbray who today will take charge of his 200th game.

Having staved off interest in top scorer Adam Armstrong in January, by the summer he will be into the final year of his deal, with the contracts of Ryan Nyambe, Joe Rothwell, Joe Rankin-Costello and a host of senior players also due to expire this year.

While Rovers have enjoyed two excellent transfer windows, they have reached their five loan limit maximum, all of which will return to their parent clubs, with Mowbray well aware of the job that lies ahead.

Harry Pickering was added this month as a long-term solution at left back, with Barry Douglas among the five loans, and Amari’i Bell one of a host of senior players whose deals are expiring.

And Mowbray said: “Football management is a journey, it’s not ‘here are your players get on with it forever’.

“We have some pretty key decisions to make over the next few months with some very important players.

“I talk a lot to the CEO and my close staff and we know what we’d like to do and how we’d like to get there and just try and build.”

Nyambe and captain Darragh Lenihan are both set to start for Rovers this afternoon, as they did in Mowbray’s first game in charge in February 2017.

Derrick Williams and Elliott Bennett were both players inherited by Mowbray, as was Charlie Mulgrew who is currently out on loan at Fleetwood Town.

Sam Gallagher was on loan at the time, subsequently brought back on a permanent deal in 2019, but Mowbray has overseen more changes to his squad in the last year than any others, with stalwarts such as Mulgrew, Danny Graham, Richie Smallwood and Craig Conway all moved on.

They have paved the way for a young, technical group to have been progressed through, but Mowbray knows the importance of experience around the dressing room, with club captain Bennett, Bradley Johnson, Lewis Holtby and Williams among those who’s deals expire.

Rovers were handed a boost to end 2020 with news that Bradley Dack had signed a new long-term deal, and the club are hoping that will help in the negotiations with others as they look to tie down their top talent.

They went another window without selling a senior player on a permanent deal, and David Raya remains the only seven-figure sale during Mowbray’s time in charge, the goalkeeper having joined Brentford for £3m in 2019.