Tony Mowbray feels happy with the options at his disposal, and doesn’t reflect on the January transfer window with regret, despite Rovers’ shortage of goals.

It is now one goal in eight games for Rovers, the run coinciding with the injury to 20-goal top scorer Ben Brereton. That has put pressure on their place in the top six ahead of tomorrow’s visit of Bristol City after the midweek stalemate with Millwall.

Rovers added Ryan Hedges, Ryan Giles and Dilan Markanday to their squad in January, only to lose Markanday for the season to a hamstring injury and Brereton for six weeks with an ankle problem.

Yet Mowbray said: “There are loads of attacking options, I don’t sit here and think ‘we should have signed more strikers in the window’.

“We have players unavailable and we have to accept it and we’re trying to find an answer.

“It’s a work-in-progress for us.”

Injuries in attack have hampered Rovers of late, as already without Ian Poveda and Bradley Dack, Tyrhys Dolan, Sam Gallagher and Brereton have all had time out of the side.

The trio of attackers signed in January have struggled to make their mark, Markanday injured on his debut at Hull City, while both Hedges and Giles have been in and out of the side.

Hedges had been a long-term target for the club, with a pre-contract deal having been tied up before Rovers and Aberdeen agreed a fee to bring that move forward.

The 26-year-old has since made only one start and a subsequent three substitute appearances, with Mowbray saying he is still adjusting to Rovers’ style of play and the intensity of the Championship.

“Ryan has to adjust to the league, the intensity of this team. He’s got a wand of a left foot, he will score goals once he understands the demands,” he added.

“He’s generally been playing deeper, wide on the right for Aberdeen, in a different system.

“It’s not easy to come into this league and just pick it up.

“Ryan Giles was brought in to cover left wing-back and we knew he could play wide right, or wide left, higher up if we needed him to.

“He was a good option for us.

“Dilan, I genuinely think he would have been really exciting. He plays like Poveda, dances with his left foot, keeps it really tight to his left foot, but get too tight and he’ll get past you and he’s gone, and he’s got a goal in him.

“That’s been a blow for us.”

Following Adam Armstrong’s departure last summer, Rovers tried, but failed, to add a central striker to their ranks.

They instead opted to bring in wide players Ian Poveda and Reda Khadra, on loan from Leeds United and Brighton respectively, to add to Brereton, Gallagher and Dolan.

They have gone with a false nine since moving to a back three in November, with John Buckley and Dolan sharing that role, with Mowbray recruiting in January to suit that system, rather than move for a recognised central striker.

Dolan started the first 15 matches, but has had a more bit-part role of late, also missing five games through injury, while Gallagher has had a stop-start season because of injury.

He has scored six goals this season, but only once in his last 16 appearances.

Gallagher was recalled to the side against Millwall, and had a good chance to put Rovers ahead late in the first half.

Rovers have struggled to replace Brereton since his injury, in terms of both his goals and willingness to run in behind, with Mowbray hoping for more from Gallagher in that regard.

He added: “Dolan, I think he was one who, in my mind, like Brereton, I took him to the well a lot and I’ve been giving him a break.

“He’s desperate to play now, it’s just where I play him.

“I’m going to play Gallagher in certain games because he’s got the physicality, the speed, the power, and I’m trying to give him the game-time because you can’t score a goal if you’re sitting on the bench.

“I think he has to try and get into the areas between the sticks to score goals.

“Against a physical team I played him to help us out with the basics of football, like set plays.

“There’s always a balance on why I pick a team and I always spend a lot of time trying to get the balance of how we’re going to play in each game having studied the opposition.”

“As you can expect it doesn’t always go to plan.

“Ultimately I rely on us to play how we do and focus on ourselves.”