Danny Graham says Rovers’ summer signings have inspired to push him to new levels after impressing in the win at Stoke City.

Graham scored his third of the season in the 3-2 win at the bet365 Stadium as Rovers moved in to the top half of the Championship.

Rovers brought in Ben Brereton and Adam Armstrong during the summer, but the 33-year-old, who signed a new deal in June, has still proven to be Tony Mowbray’s go-to man at the moment.

The boss thinks Graham is as fit as he has been during his time at the club.

And Graham told the Lancashire Telegraph: “I’ve trained hard, looked after myself and I think the gaffer bringing in younger players, big money signings, has inspired me and pushed me on.

“I want to enjoy my last few years in football and give it everything I’ve got.

“I love being at this club and if I am fit and doing well then it can only be a benefit.

“The gaffer has given me that backing. He’s mentioned playing three games in a week and that intensity but even at 33 I feel fit and feel sharp.

“Age is just a number as far as I’m concerned and in my opinion it was my best performance of the season.”

Rovers moved in to a 3-0 lead in the 47th minute courtesy of goals from Bradley Dack, Graham and Harrison Reed.

There was a late scare as Saido Berahino and Tom Ince reduced the arrears before Berahino missed an injury time penalty as he hit the crossbar from 12 yards.

And Graham insists Rovers can’t afford a repeat of that as they almost let a three goal lead slip.

He added: “We can’t do what we did in the final 10 minutes, it’s as simple as that.

“You come to Stoke, who have just been relegated, and go 3-0 up, to let them back in it seemed a bit soft and naive.

“We’re delighted with the result but on the other hand we’re disappointed with the last 10-12 minutes.

“We’ve conceded late goals against Ipswich and against Villa, and on another day the penalty goes in here.

“The positives are coming here and playing the way we did for 70-75 minutes and scoring the three goals.”

Graham, who insisted he was a yard or two onside for his goal, on the stoke of half time felt it was Rovers’ best performance since Mowbray took charge in February 2017 despite still having things to work on.

“We’re a young group who are still learning but this is a massive three points for us,” he said.

“I’d say it’s the best we’ve played since the gaffer has been here.

“We passed the ball, put our bodies on the line when we needed to, got the goals and everything seemed to be going well. But we can’t let teams in as easy as we did.”

Despite the negatives of the final 10 minutes however, Graham believes Rovers are moving in the right direction after the opening nine league matches.

“It’s nice to score, nice to get the three points. I’m still a bit deflated with the final minutes to be honest with you, but finding negatives to a win at Stoke is a good thing I think.

“We’re definitely on the right path. Against Villa there was a 93rd minute equaliser from a free kick and we put on a massive performance here.

“Let’s keep going. We go to Bournemouth on Tuesday and then look forward to another big game next week at Ewood Park.”