Tony Mowbray stayed loyal to the majority of his promotion winners last season.

Although Rovers named an unchanged side on just five occasions, eight players started more than 30 Championship matches.

Rovers certainly face a big summer, having focused much of last season’s recruitment on adding depth to the squad, Mowbray has spoken about wanting to bring in more ready-made players this time around.

The boss has praised the group he inherited when taking charge in February 2017, and the statistics certainly back up that sentiment. Mowbray has now taken charge of 107 league matches and in that time, seven players having stated more than 70 of them.

Boiling those statistics down to when each player was available for selection, the figures become even more stark.

David Raya has started 91 of 105 matches, missing two through injury, with Jason Steele preferred in Mowbray’s early days and Jayson Leutwiler in the final four games.

Elliott Bennett, another Mowbray mainstay, has started 94 per cent of the matches he’s been available for, 89 out of 95, and has been used off the bench in another four.

Captain Charlie Mulgrew may have finished last season out of the side but has started 79 of 85 matches, with one appearance of the bench.

Derrick Williams has had a difficult season with injuries, but started Mowbray’s opening 60 league matches and has a record of 83 starts in 95 games.

Player of the year Danny Graham, to his credit, has missed just six matches out of Mowbray’s 107 through injury, starting 71 and featuring off the bench on 23 occasions.

Darragh Lenihan has had two lengthy injury absences in the last two seasons, but has started 62 of the 64 games in which he has been available, with one unused substitute appearance in the 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough in December. 

Corry Evans, 58 of 80, and Ryan Nyambe, 67 of 83, have 73 and 81 per cent starting ratios respectively, making up the eight players Mowbray inherited who have been Rovers regulars.

Switching to the players Mowbray signed, Adam Armstrong has started 48 of 65 matches and has been used off the bench on 17 occasions.

That 100 per cent record of featuring in every game in which he has been available is shared with Bradley Dack who has started 77 of 84 matches, with seven substitute outings.

Richie Smallwood has lost his place in the second half of this season, but has clocked up 75 starts in 90 games, while Amari’i Bell has started 41 of 62 matches with nine substitute appearances.

While some fans will want to see Rovers move away from some of these regular faces, Mowbray will be wary of too much change, and not disregarding their contirbution given the success of the last two seasons.

But with new arrivals expected, as well as the likes of Joe Rothwell and Lewis Travis who pushed their claims in 2018/19, there is definitely a feeling of Rovers operating with a new-look moving forward.

With Mowbray wanting to introduce a different style, a shake-up in personnel may well be needed to implement that.