Tony Mowbray says Rovers must believe they can hold off the chasing pack to finish in the League One automatic promotion places.

Rovers have built up a five-point advantage at the top of the table but both Shrewsbury and Wigan have games in hand.

While Mowbray admits he would rather have points on the board, he acknowledges that the chasing pack are capable of putting together winning runs.

But he wants his side to continue applying pressure with positive results having lost just once in their last 25 league outings.

“They have been winning games,” Mowbray said of the two sides directly below Rovers.

“But what I do know is their congestion will hit at some stage and we have to win our football matches.

“If we drop points along the way and they keep winning then it could be a disappointing and frustrating end to the season, but then it might not be because any team that finishes in the play-offs has got to believe that they are going to win it.

“We have to believe that we’re going to finish first or second, we believe we can finish above Wigan and we have beaten Shrewsbury at home and believe we can finish above them and have to prove it on the grass starting against Blackpool.”

Rovers host a Blackpool side who won 2-0 at Wigan last week, with this weekend’s fixture described as ‘dangerous’ by Mowbray.

His side have been troubled by the sides in the bottom half of the table already this season, with Northampton, Oldham, AFC Wimbledon and Doncaster all taking points from Ewood Park this term.

But the Rover boss insists his players will be fully prepared for the challenges that lie ahead in the final 10 games.

He added: “Every one is not going to go our way.

“Everything is difficult, there are no easy games as we have found with Bury and Oldham in recent weeks.

“They are really hard games and teams in the bottom half will be looking over their shoulders and thinking they need to find a result.

“You find teams will come with a real intensity and focus, running power, every game is really dangerous and Blackpool is dangerous.

“They went to the DW Stadium and won 2-0 so let’s start with that, we know how tough it is going to be but what we do now is that moving forward we will have plenty of preparation time whereas teams around us will be playing game after game.

“That could be a positive, but it could also be a negative. If they are confident and on a winning streak then they can keep winning but also could be a concern if they pick up knocks, suspensions or energy levels are a bit lower.

“But let’s keep going.”

Rovers looked set to move seven clear at the top after going in to a 2-0 half-time lead against Wigan in last Sunday’s televised clash.

But a second half fightback from the Latics saw them claw it back to 2-2, a result which also suited Shrewsbury who booked their place in the Checkatrade Trophy final on Tuesday.

While Wigan remain in the FA Cup, with a quarter-final against Southampton to play, Rovers merely have promotion as their focus.

And Mowbray said: “We just have to win as many as we can, pick up as many points as we can and keep going.

“When it was a battle against Wigan we were up for the battle and when it was about quality we had that too.

“If we show that between now and the end of the season we should have nothing to fear.”