Smart recruitment and good coaching can help Rovers bridge the financial gap and maintain a push towards the Premier League, according to Tony Mowbray.

Rovers spent close to £14m on Ben Brereton, Adam Armstrong and Sam Gallagher in the summers of 2018 and 2019 but spending has been much less since, with Dilan Markanday becoming the fourth six-figure addition since.

The arrivals of Thomas Kaminski, Harry Pickering, Tayo Edun and Markanday within the last 18 months have added another £2m to the spending, Rovers recouping £15m on Armstrong in that time.

Much of Rovers’ business since has been on free transfers and loan signings, with five loan recruits last season and the same number already this season.

With uncertainty over the long-term futures of out-of-contract trio Ryan Nyambe, Darragh Lenihan and Joe Rothwell as well as top scorer Ben Brereton leave Rovers planning for the long-term while also ensuring they can maintain their form that has moved them into the promotion race this season.

While Deyovaisio Zeefuik arrived on an initial loan deal there is a permanent clause included in the deal struck with Hertha Berlin, while Rovers took advantage of Markanday’s contract stand-off with Tottenham Hotspur to bring him in on a permanent deal.

There is a desire to make the finance available stretch as far as it can in the January window, with Mowbray continuing to stress that recruitment is the most important element of any club.

He feels that is in good hands after the arrival of the experienced head of recruitment John Park, while player development with one of the division’s youngest squad is another important element of how Rovers are looking to progress.

“The bigger picture for this football club is to show the ambition of trying to move forward and trying to progress back towards the Premier League,” Mowbray said.

“I’m not just saying that on the back of 10 decent results, that’s always been the goal to try and grow the club.

“It’s difficult when you keep loaning five players every year, three of them become your best players and then they disappear and you’re left with huge holes in your team.

“At some stage you have to sign your own players, build a club with your own players and somewhere down the line if you have to sell one asset to bring in two or three other assets to keep growing the club then that’s fine.

“As long as the progression is towards where you want to go which is towards the top end of the league and competing with teams with greater resources.

“I think Brentford are an example of a club that have used the resource, sold the asset and then reinvested that to get to where they want to be.

“Ultimately, that’s a blueprint for this club, I don’t think we’re just going to buy our way out of this league and we have to almost coach our way.”

Chief executive Steve Waggott said Rovers’ league position has enable them to sign players that they previously thought unattainable.

Zeefuik has played 11 times in the Bundesliga for Hertha while Markanday is a player that would otherwise only be available on loan until his contractual situation became clear.

Rovers have built strong relationships with a number of Premier League clubs, with Brighton having agreed to sanction loan moves for Jan Paul van Hecke and Reda Khadra this season and Christian Walton in 2019/20, while Harvey Elliott and Leighton Clarkson (Liverpool), Tosin Adarabioyo and Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Manchester City), Harrison Reed (Southampton), Barry Douglas and Ian Poveda (Leeds United) and Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton) all making temporary switches to Ewood Park.

Mowbray says Rovers have proven themselves willing to hand young players opportunities but would always prefer them to be ones they can develop for their benefit than that of another club.

“Ultimately it comes down to the quality of who we’re trying to recruit. We’re looking for the right quality for the team,” he added.

“I’ve talked about Under-23s football and sometimes it’s quite positional and the challenge for Dilan will be that he has to come out of that very position Under-23s football that gets played and he has to now played in this really tough league

“What does it say that these young players want to come and play for us? They see it as a potential for starting their careers and what they see as men’s football, real football.

“It’s an opportunity for them to get going in their careers, to test themselves, to give themselves a platform.

“Our club has shown that we’re more than happy to give young players, as long as they’re talented enough and work hard enough, the opportunity to showcase their talent.

“If it helps our team progress and move on we all benefit and I think Dilan will fall into that category.

“I’m hoping quickly he will be someone we can rely on to score goals and create chances and help the team win football matches.”