Gregg Broughton says first-team recruitment is the most immediate role to be fulfilled as Rovers look to step-up their preparations for the upcoming campaign.

Broughton’s remit as director of football, following his appointment earlier this month, is wide-ranging, but he says recruitment has to take priority given the work needed to be done ahead of the July 30 start, and the closing of the transfer window in August.

He has been impressed with the work behind the scenes on the recruitment front prior to his arrival, but admits those need to be tinkered slightly to fit the needs of new head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson who will have the final say on any prospective incoming.

The departures of first-team regulars Darragh Lenihan and Joe Rothwell, as well as the five loanees and squad men Bradley Johnson and Jacob Davenport have left holes to fill in the squad.

It will be up to Broughton, and the recruitment team, to find players for Tomasson who will then have to give the green light before any player is brought in.

“My role now is purely going to be focused on player recruitment, over the next few weeks and months,” Broughton said.

“What we need to make sure is that Jon’s vision for how the team will play is slightly different to Tony’s, and we have to be completely aligned before we bring players in.

“We have to make sure his long list of players is as Jon wants it, because ultimately Jon will always have the final say before we bring players in.

“We have to recruit well, make sure it starts off by looking internally. I’ve worked at clubs before where you can have this sexy new player from outside and everyone is excited by that, but there could be a player inside the club who you know what he can do, know any character flaws he has and what character strengths he has and that player can often get overlooked.

“We always start recruitment by looking internally and look externally outside of that.”

Given the links of Broughton, and head coach Tomasson, to Scandinavia, there has been a train of thought that it could be a market Rovers look to explore.

However, changes to work permit rules make that particular avenue much more difficult, Broughton believing the market to have shrunk by around 80 per cent.

Broughton revealed last week that Rovers would be able to press on with their transfer plans, irrespective of the outcome of speculation surrounding top scorer Ben Brereton.

TAKE OUT A SUBSCRIPTION...

Gain unlimited access to the Lancashire Telegraph website with a premium digital subscription with a one month FREE trial