Victory over a top six rival to move into the top six may seem like a psychological boost, but Tony Mowbray felt his players’ display will have had the bigger impact.

Rovers hadn’t beaten a team in the top eight of the division prior to the 1-0 success at the bet365 Stadium that saw Mowbray’s side leapfrog the Potters and into the play-off spots.

Yet Mowbray felt the manner of the performance mattered more than who the victory came against, with the manager in no doubt about the positive vibe surrounding the players given their recent run of form.

The Stoke win was their fifth in seven matches, while they have taken 10 points from a possible 12 since the 7-0 thumping by Fulham.

Asked of a psychological boost on the back of the Stoke win, Mowbray said: “I’m not sure there’s any benefits more than any other away win.

“An away win is always good to get in this league. The footballers feel the quality of the opposition and you feel when you come off whether you’ve played against a really good team or one that didn’t really function or not as many problems as we thought.

“It’s more about where they are with their own performance level really.

“They felt they were pretty compact, didn’t give many opportunities away, felt they could score on the break and they felt good about their own performance rather than who we played or the result against a certain opposition.

“They genuinely believe they can compete with anyone in this division.

“They’re in a good place at the moment, training is good, I don’t feel any sulking from the ones that aren’t in the team.

“Everyone is pulling for the team, whether they’re in the team or not, it feels a bit like that which is a good place to be.”