Tony Mowbray said he and opposite number Gary Rowett had both made clear their intentions for the game to be played but said the referee took the decision to postpone Saturday’s match due to player welfare concerns.

Mowbray praised the efforts of the groundstaff in trying to get the game on, but accepted the decision of referee Geoff Eltringham.

The manager was at Ewood around four hours ahead of kick-off just as the snow began to settle on the pitch.

The game was given the go-ahead at 12:30pm after an initial check but a secondary inspection as the players were preparing to begin their warm-ups led to the postponement 45 minutes ahead of kick-off.

“Really frustrating, particularly so late in the day, people were in the stadium,” Mowbray said of the decision.

“Two hours before the game you could have called it off no problem.

“I was here pretty early, just after 11am, and the pitch was covered with a few inches of snow.

“The groundstaff decided to start clearing the lines when the referee got here and give it a go.

“They attacked the pitch with trying to get all the snow off.

“I do think the referee felt from early on it would be difficult with the amount of water on that pitch because of the snow.

“It was unstable the grass when you walked on it and what it might have looked like at the end is another thing.

“Myself and Gary Rowett were in the office with the referee and both wanted to play the match but you have to respect the officials.

“I think he made his decision with a lot of thought, he took an hour to see what it looked like, we have to respect the decision and his responsibility which is for the safety and welfare of the footballers.

“He felt it was unsafe and we have to abide by that.”

Mowbray said the heavy snowfall upon his arrival meant the groundstaff waited for that to subside before beginning their clear up operation.

That was nearing its end when the decision was made, with the referee checking both the roll, and bounce, of the ball before calling it off.

“At that point there was no point trying to remove the snow because it was coming down in a huge snowfall,” Mowbray explained.

“The whole stadium was white with snow, so what’s the point in clearing the snow because as soon as you cleared it, then it was going to fill back up.

“It was only when the snow stopped and it became drizzle that the decision was taken to start clearing the snow.

“It was always going to be tight to get it all off before kick-off but they made a huge effort.

“It wasn’t totally cleared when the referee made his decision and that might have played a part as well.

“The decision is made, as I’ve said to the players in the dressing room, it was a day where we wanted to put a lot of pressure on the teams around us, what a chance to put three points on the board.

“We have to accept it, the game will be played. We have to win football matches whether that was today or a few weeks down the line, that game will be played, everyone will play 46 matches and we’ll see how many points everyone has and where they end up.”

Mowbray sympathised with both sets of supporters, particularly the travelling Millwall fans, but said it was out of both clubs’ hands.

He said: “It was a big decision and the referee had to make the call, not our club secretary, or their manager, the referee made the decision and his main concern was the welfare of the players.”