Rovers boss Tony Mowbray says his side are embracing their clash with West Brom at Ewood Park this afternoon.

The Baggies were relegated from the Championship last season under former Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce.

Valerian Ismael took charge at the Hawthorns over the summer, and his side have picked up seven points from their opening three league games.

“Obviously, the manager came from Barnsley and finished fifth last season,” said Mowbray. “He has brought his style to West Brom.

“They’ve got better players than Barnsley - that’s no disrespect to them - but players who have played in the Premier League. And he’s turned them very quickly into a mirror image of how Barnsley played in a 3-4-3.

“They get the ball forward very quickly, they look to try and get throw-ins, play it out wide and put all the centre backs in the box. They are very direct and they ask questions of you so we have to be ready for that.

“It’s a very difficult team to play against, as Sheffield United - another team who came down from the Premier League - found in midweek. We’re looking forward to the challenge of it, but we understand it’s a big challenge.”

Mowbray spent three years at the Hawthorns, guiding the Baggies to the Championship title in the 2007/08 campaign.

While he has fond memories from his time in the Midlands, the Blackburn boss insists it is business as usual once the game kicks off.

“I have a lot of affection for West Brom - I had a really good time there," he said.

“We went to Wembley two or three times, we got to an FA Cup semi-final, we won the league, scored lots of goals and had some great players.

“They are great fans, they are very passionate about their team. I’m really interested to see over the course of this season how they take to the brand of football.

“If it’s a winning brand, they will buy it as any football fan does. If it’s not winning, I’m not sure they will accept it for too long.”