EWOOD boss Tony Mowbray insists the signing of Peter Whittingham is just the start of his Rovers revolution.

The midfielder became Mowbray’s first arrival of the summer when he penned a two-year deal on Tuesday having opted to leave Championship club Cardiff City.

And the Rovers head coach says there will be more deals to come as he looks to shape his squad for the League One season.

He said: “Football teams need balance, so we’ll need some workers and some people who are going to compete on the cold winter nights in an away game on a bobbly pitch. We need to have people who can put their foot in and tackle and win the ball back for us.

“That process has been going on right through the summer and we’re pleased to have got Peter over the line and hopefully for him we can add some more as we move forward.

“As I’ve said to Peter, we need to try and add more quality players, so that he feels that he’s coming to a club that has existing high quality players as well, but one that wants to keep adding and keep moving on.

“We need different types. I’ve talked about artists and soldiers in the past and Peter’s an artist. We do need to sign some soldiers as well and some people who are, to coin a phrase, ‘water-carriers’.”

And Mowbray, who has made the middle of midfield and up front areas he needs to address, said Whittingham fitted the bill for him at Rovers in terms of his attitude and ability.

The Ewood chief added: “I think I’ve always tried to recruit people who love the game, who want to learn and want to get better.

“That came across to me very obviously that Peter is a football lover, who looks forward to training, who is a good character around the dressing room and who wants to help younger players as well. He has a really good manner about him.

“He’s been a player that as my teams over the years have played against, you feel the quality of Peter Whittingham on the pitch against you – picking passes, hitting lovely balls, dead-ball situations, scoring free-kicks, whipping corners under the crossbar – and so when the opportunity came, I think it was something that we needed to explore and ultimately we sit here delighted that we’ve been able to sign him.

“I’m looking forward to working with him first and foremost on the grass, and then integrating him into the team and I hope it’s seen as a sign of a player that is showing some intent for the football club.

“I appreciate that it’s a free transfer situation, but it’s a very high quality free transfer and the job for me now is to keep adding quality around the already existing quality players that are on the board in my office.

“If we can add some more quality footballers along the way, it should give us a confidence that we’re trying to build a team that is and does have an ambition to bounce straight back.”