Jon Dahl Tomasson was happy with Sondre Tronstad’s debut against West Brom but says he needs time to adjust to Championship football.

The midfielder played just under an hour on his first competitive appearance at Ewood Park after joining on a free transfer from Vitesse Arnhem over the summer.

“I was pleased with him,” said Tomasson. “He still needs to get used to the intensity of the league, which is normal.

“Sammie Szmodics has said that it took him a while to get used to things (when he joined).

“When you come to a new club or a new country, it will take a bit of a while. We need to give all those players time.”

The Rovers boss was pleased with his side’s quality at both ends of the pitch as they got off to a winning start against the Baggies.

“They have a very good team, excellent players,” he continued. “But the way my players handled that and created more chances in the second half tells a lot about the attitude, the togetherness and the quality of those young lads.”

There were seven minutes added on in the first half and nine in the second following a change in the EFL’s rules.

The new guidelines are in line with officiating at the World Cup in Qatar last year, and Tomasson believes it is a positive step for the game.

“It’s brilliant, we should have done this years ago,” he insisted. “It has been terrible for years, we were killing our product.

“Fans are paying a hell of a lot of money so we need to give them something back, and that means the ball needs to be in play more.

“I am really happy with those decisions and I think it is the right way to go.

Football is a great sport, we have had it for many years. You see joy from the streets and the school yards to the big stadia.

“But we want to keep this product for years to come so I think it is a very good decision.”

Rovers are back at Ewood Park on Tuesday night when they take on Walsall in the opening round of the Carabao Cup (7.45pm).

Tomasson is keen to give some of the players who missed out on the starting line-up against West Brom a chance against the Saddlers.

“Some of those boys will, of course, get minutes,” he confirmed.

“We all know that we have lost a couple of players this season compared to last season, so we need to try to get the other players into great fitness. They are already fit but they need game time as well.”