Harvey Elliott apologised to his team-mates for his involvement in the decisive Reading goal in midweek, but Tony Mowbray isn’t playing a blame game with the Liverpool loanee.

Mowbray acknowledged it was Elliott’s mistake that led to the Reading goal, the attacker caught in possession 25 yards from goal that allowed George Puscas to open the scoring.

That proved to be the only goal of the game, with Elliott substituted in the second half after a difficult night for the teenager.

But Mowbray said there were more than enough opportunities in the game for Rovers to get something out of it having fallen behind.

Equally, Mowbray was loathed to criticise the teenager whose contribution since arriving on loan has seen him score five goals, with only Adam Armstrong having managed more, while his nine assists are bettered only in the division by Norwich City’s Emi Buendia.

Elliott has also started all but three of Rovers’ 28 league games since joining on a season-long loan, two of which have come in this run of defeats, and Mowbray says his contribution over the course of his time at Ewood Park has undoubtedly been a positive one.

He said: “We trust him, he’s played a lot of football for us, he’s doing exceptionally well.

“We want him to be brave, get on the ball and affect the game and he does that exceptionally well week in, week out.

“He knows the situation. It was a game we dominated for long, long spells and we were really disappointed not to get anything from it.

“Ultimately he was involved in the goal, he got caught in possession around his own box.

“He’s a very talented boy, he understands football, but he’s a very delicate age.

“Liverpool know what they’ve got, a very talented individual, maturity, he feels the emotion of the team, the frustration and disappointment.

“And as I said after the game, he didn’t need to apologise, he’s done exceptionally well for us this year and it’s not just incident why you lose a football match.

“We missed chances at the other end, we didn’t take opportunities to score a goal, and to win any match you have to score and while he was involved in the goal against, we don’t sit there and blame him.”