Rovers made clear their intention, upon the departure of Tony Mowbray, they would look for a director of football and head coach set-up, a ‘European model’ as it is sometimes referred.

For much of last summer it was expected, given the feeling of priority, that it would be the head coach appointed first, followed by the director of football.

As things came to pass, it was Gregg Broughton appointed first, on June 8 2022, and within two weeks Rovers had their new head coach, Jon Dahl Tomasson.

Broughton’s appointment afforded him the chance to intervene in the managerial process, Tomasson having been locked in talks with another club, understood to be FZ Zurich, before his decision to make the move to Ewood Park.

It would feel remiss not to give Broughton credit for, at the very least, helping to get Tomasson over the line. The stock of the head coach has undeniably grown over the course of the last year.

Upon Broughton’s appointment it was announced the departments that would fall under his remit would be first-team, Academy, recruitment, medical, athletic performance and analysis.

In the last 12 months, Rovers recorded a highest league finish since relegation from the Premier League, Academy director Stuart Jones declared it the most successful period of his tenure, while all other departments have been strengthened in terms of personnel.

It could be argued the role of a director of football is overplayed, both in terms of success and disappointment.

Indeed, the success of Rovers’ Academy within the last year has been a long process, rather than an overnight impact.

The talent of Adam Wharton has been well known for some time. Yes, there needed to be pathways and opportunities, and the connection between the first-team and Academy is stronger than ever, but there have been numerous people down the years who have played key roles in Rovers being able to hand debuts to five players within the 2022/23 season.

However, this is undoubtedly his area of expertise, and with the Academy placed at the forefront of the club’s plans, it was what made his appointment seem a good fit.

Equally, on the flip side, Rovers’ recruitment came under fire in January for the deadline day debacle that saw the club fail to register Lewis O’Brien and Ethan Brierley, but also fail to deliver a striker.

The caveats would be that the recruitment department, which has received significant investment in both resource and personnel since Broughton’s appointment, identified the players in question, and several strikers who it was felt would make a difference, and the failure to land them was out of their hands.

Broughton himself held his hands up that because it fell under his remit he would accept responsibility for those failings, and that lessons would be learned, having ultimately been let down by long-time processes the club had in place.

The impacts of medical, athletic performance and analysis are harder to judge from an outside perspective, other than outlining the investment in the areas and the ongoing work behind the scenes to improve in all areas.

Rovers’ recruitment was mixed last summer, Dom Hyam subsequently named player of the year at the end of a debut season, with Sam Szmodics in third, with Callum Brittain’s impact hampered by injury and the emergence of Joe Rankin-Costello.

Tyler Morton clocked up 46 appearances during his season-long loan spell, though deals for George Hirst and Clinton Mola didn’t work.

Given both were loan to buy deals, no harm was done on a financial front, even though Hirst’s status as No.1 striking target proved part of the goalscoring downfall.

Rovers have made a quick start this summer, announcing the signing of Niall Ennis on a free transfer upon leaving Plymouth Argyle.

The club will target a similar number of signings to the six made last summer.

Money for transfer fees appears tight, unless recouped through players sales, a contrast to the £4.5m spent last summer.

However, Rovers do have the benefit of time on their side, with the late appointments of director of football, head coach and head of recruitment hampering last summer’s efforts.

Given the currency that many supporters place on the recruitment element of Broughton’s role, it feels as though it is that on which he will be mainly judged.

That doesn’t just go for players however, and the part he played in the recruitment process of the head coach shouldn’t be overlooked.

While appointments behind the scenes have been positive, so to have the contract extensions.

Broughton quickly identified this as a key reason why the player-trading model the club had previously wanted to employ just simply wasn’t working.

He arrived too late in the piece to affect the departures of Joe Rothwell, Darragh Lenihan and Ryan Nyambe last summer, while the club were in a precarious position with Ben Brereton who has also moved on, but other contract renewals have been plentiful and positive.

Thirteen players have since signed new contracts, many of them long-term, including a five-year deal for Adam Wharton, correcting what could have been a costly mistake when he was signed to a two-year deal, plus an option, only six months earlier.

Broughton too has communicated well, giving a frank and honest assessment of the January window in particular, and while the answers haven’t always been what supporters would want to hear, he has been willing and able to provide the rationale behind them.

It is rare of people in his role to speak openly, and it should be seen as a step forward given what has come before.

Undoubtedly he will be judged over a longer time than just 12 months, and it will need that for the things he has looked to implement to come to fruition.

The January window fall-out was undoubtedly the toughest time of his tenure, and there is an element of trust he accepts he, and the club, will need to win back from fans as a result.