July 1 marked the start of Rovers’ partnership with Macron – though the new kits may not be ready in time for the opening pre-season friendly at AFC Fylde next weekend.

Rovers returned to pre-season training this week, and while wearing Macron training gear, the club revealed that won’t be the official training clothing for 2021/22.

As with the training kit, the club have taken delivery of a stop-gap pre-season kit until the new shirts arrive which is expected to be work in next week's pre-season opener.

Retail Manager Nicola Prior says the club hope to receive delivery of the new shirts in the next couple of weeks, although the change in manufacturer meant for a delay in their ordering.

With further issues caused by the pandemic, Rovers aren’t alone in waiting on stock and say they are ‘working tremendously hard’ to rectify the situation.

Nicola said: “As we signed a contract with a new kit supplier, our orders were placed slightly later last year. That, coupled with the pandemic, has meant that we are still awaiting delivery of the kits.

“We are hopeful that we will receive our deliveries in the next couple of weeks and we will work hard to get these on sale as quickly as we can. Unfortunately, at the minute, I cannot give any confirmed dates for their reveal, as there a number of factors that impact this.”

Rovers had hoped the kits would have arrived in time for the opening pre-season friendly at AFC Fylde, which kicks off the pre-season programme of fixtures on July 10.

The kits worn for that friendly won’t be on general sale, but fans who have signed up for a season ticket prior to that game will be entered in a draw to win a match-worn shirt.

“Macron have supplied us with a pre-season kit to wear for that match as a stop-gap prior to the 2021/22 kits arriving. Any Season Ticket holder who has renewed for the 2021/22 campaign, up until the date of the AFC Fylde game, will go into a draw to win the shirts that the players will be wearing for that game,” Nicola added.

“Plenty of clubs are in the same boat as us and haven’t released their kit. As a club, the delivery of the kits is out of our control and that’s the same scenario with other clubs as well. We want to get the kit on the shelves as soon as we can and we have been working tremendously hard to do that.”

This summer brought an end to the latest deal with Umbro who had been kit suppliers for five years.

Rovers will continue their partnership with Recoverite Compression as their main sponsor, as well as welcoming Italian sports manufacturer Macron on board.

The Roverstore at Ewood Park is currently undergoing refurbishment work, and Nicola added: “We’re hugely excited to be working with a great brand that have a vast amount of experience.

“It's been really good getting to know how they work. We’ve been working with them over the last eight or nine months now regarding the design and ordering process for kits and the partnership has been really strong since.

“The Roverstore has had a full refurbishment and this has been ongoing for the last month or so. We’re on schedule to reopen in line with when we plan to launch the kits. We’re looking forward to welcoming supporters back to the Roverstore and we’re sure they will love the new look of the place and our kits.”

Stoke City and Bolton Wanderers have both unveiled their away shirts this week, both supplied by Macron, and are priced at £48 for adults.