WHEN it comes to goalscoring, there are few very discussions that can be had without including Adam Armstrong.

While no other player in the squad reached double figures last season, Armstrong was one short of 30, his 29 the most by any Rovers striker since Alan Shearer in 1995/96.

Indeed, Armstrong reached double figures with both his right foot (16) and left foot (10), while he also scored more with his head (3) than any other player.

More concerning for Rovers however was his share of their goals, some 43 per cent.

The caveat would be that Armstrong had more shots than anyone in the division, his 189 was 52 more than nearest challenger Teemu Pukki.

One area Rovers must improve is sharing the load when it comes to finding the back of the net.

Their 65 goals were scored by only 11 players, with Sheffield Wednesday the only side in the division to have fewer scorers last season.

Of those 11, Jacob Davenport, John Buckley and Derrick Williams managed just one each.

So how can Rovers improve?

Only two sides, Norwich City and Nottingham Forest, scored fewer headed goals than Rovers’ five, three of which were scored by Armstrong.

Darragh Lenihan, Barry Douglas, Lewis Holtby, Ryan Nyambe, Tom Trybull, Lewis Travis and Corry Evans all failed to find the back of the net despite being regulars in their side.

And while not solely their job, Rovers need to find a way of getting more players onto the scoresheet.

Set plays can have a big part to play in that, one area that was underwhelming throughout the whole of last season.

Douglas arrived with a reputation of being good from dead-ball situations, but they went through a whole season without a goal from a direct free-kick, though Holtby did manage one in the Carabao Cup win over Doncaster.

Harry Pickering was quick to take over the dead-ball duties at AFC Fylde and his delivery from left back, as well as his set piece prowess, is one thing Rovers will look to in a bid to improve those statistics.

Last season thee 22-year-old scored three times, all in the opening 12 games with two coming from free-kicks.

He also chipped in with two assists, while in 2019/20 he managed two goals and three assists from left back.

Creativity was a key criteria of Mowbray’s transfer plans this summer, mentioned regularly towards the end of the season, not least after the loss at Sheffield Wednesday where they hit one of 14 blanks in their 46 games.

Back-to-back 5-2 home wins to sign off the season did plenty for the statistics books, not least seeing Armstrong finish the campaign with three hat-tricks and as the Championship’s second leading marksmen.

But it also went to highlight the improvements in consistently that are required, and with continued doubts over the top scorer, and Bradley Dack’s injury, others must step up.

Ben Brereton will look to build on his impressive summer with Chile, but is yet to reach double figures for goals across his three seasons as a Rovers player, though Sam Gallagher did chip in with eight, and will be hoping a more regular starting spot next term can see him improve those numbers.

However, the challenge for Gallagher is to ensure he’s not playing catch-up with his fitness, having not featured in any of the friendlies last summer, only making the squad in two of the first six matches. He was also missing from the side at AFC Fylde.

Tyrhys Dolan, Harry Chapman and Dan Butterworth offer exciting attacking options, but are still in the raw rather than relied upon category, and the goalscoring burden is one of the many areas in which Rovers need to solve between now and the start of the season.

More goals from midfield is an issue that goes way beyond this group of players.

Armstrong offers a luxury in being a guaranteed goalscorer, something any side in the division would give for, but equally his status as a Rovers player come September 1 is anything but guaranteed.

The youthfulness of the back-up options to Armstrong, Gallagher and Brereton, themselves only 24, 25 and 22 respectively, were laid bear with the AFC Fylde win, Chapman at 23 the most experienced of those that Mowbray selected.

Rovers goalscorers: Adam Armstrong (28), Harvey Elliott (8), Sam Gallagher (8), Ben Brereton (7), Bradley Dack (3), Joe Rothwell (3), Bradley Johnson (3), Tyrhys Dolan (3), John Buckley (1), Jacob Davenport (1), Derrick Williams (1)