Jon Dahl Tomasson has explained his thinking behind playing Tyrhys Dolan and Arnor Sigurdsson as wing-backs.

The pair started the 4-1 victory against Wrexham on Monday night, while Joe Rankin-Costello played on the right of the back three.

Tomasson had prepared for most of the play to take place in the visitors’ half, where Dolan and Sigurdsson would essentially play as wingers.

The Rovers boss also felt it was important to pick players who would offer more “control”, with Ipswich’s shock defeat against Maidstone proving how dangerous the underdogs can be on the break in these types of games.

"When you face a lower-ranked team, the chances of you defending a lot are not that big,” said Tomasson.

"Our structure in the half of the opponent. They played as a winger, Tyrhys Dolan and Arnor Sigurdsson, that was the thought.

"We knew we could keep the ball in the team, which was important so we could play forward.

“We felt we could still cover each lane which we like to cover in the half of the opponent, and we did that. We cover five lanes.

“Joe is a clever player, a good player. He makes very good decisions on the ball, it is great to have him back. We played him there to have more control, Ipswich went out the other day with a transition goal.

“We wanted to have more control, but still doing some moments where he got forward more in the second half. We had a good rest defence and good control."

Wrexham were backed by a sold-out away end at Ewood Park, and Tomasson admits it had the potential to be a “dangerous” game in front of the TV cameras.

But the Rovers chief gave his players credit for sticking to their plan despite going a goal down in the opening 20 minutes when Andy Cannon fired past Aynsley Pears.

"I thought we pleased very well in general,” he continued. “These games can be very dangerous, 7,000 fans on a Monday night is so impressive.

"The players did the right things and stuck to the game plan. We dominated and created lots of chances. We were in control."

Rovers will now host Premier League Newcastle in the fifth round. The Magpies beat Fulham 2-0 at Craven Cottage thanks to goals from Sean Longstaff and Dan Burn.

It is a tie Sam Szmodics is relishing following his brace against Wrexham, which took the midfielder’s tally for the season to 21 goals.

“I think we thoroughly deserved it,” he said. “Wrexham are a tough team, doing really well this season, and we knew their strengths and qualities.

“We haven’t been on the best run but we thoroughly deserved it. Great support and through to the next round, we are looking forward to Newcastle.”