Rovers reporter Rich Sharpe picks out three talking points from the defeat to Preston North End.

THE DG CONUNDRUM

Tony Mowbray admitted last month he felt Rovers were a striker short, not helped by the injury to Dominic Samuel.

The boss clearly sees Adam Armstrong and Ben Brereton as more suited to operating from the wide areas currently, and we have recently seen both Bradley Dack and now Kasey Palmer playing as a central striker.

Graham has been used in 17 of Rovers’ 18 matches, starting all but five of them.

Like in the draw at Derby in September, he was badly missed and it was a case of it, not when, he would be introduced.

He scored within four minutes of his introduction, and while Mowbray admitted a shortage of training was behind the decision to leave him on the bench, his value to this team is undoubted.

BACK FOUR FAILINGS

This was the second time this back four has played together this season, and first since the opening day.

The three changes that Rovers made were all in the backline, but there would have been few arguments about the make-up of the defence going in to the game. But it look on the day that they hadn’t played together for some time.

Rovers were caught out down the flanks three times in the opening 10 minutes, leading to two goals. With Darragh Lenihan caught out for the first goal, Ryan Nyambe was uncharacteristically beaten for pace and strength for the second.

Tom Barkhuizen flew past Derrick Williams for the third, while Rovers were all over the shop by the time that Alan Browne made it four. Mowbray described it as an uncharacteristic off day for his usually reliable defenders. But there are clearly improvements to be made ahead of the trip to Wigan.

HEAVY DEFEATS

Only fourth-placed West Brom (31) in the top 15 sides in the Championship have shipped more than Rovers’ 25 goals from 18 games.

That statistic isn’t helped by Rovers’ three away day defeats, two by a margin of 4-1 as well as the 3-1 reverse at Swansea. In each of those, from the moment the opposition have scored a third goal, Rovers have looked ragged and ready for the final whistle.

Preston’s third came in the 74th minute, 60 seconds later than it did at Bristol City in September, and given Mowbray’s tendency to commit so many bodies in to the attack in a bid to get back in to the match it can leave them vulnerable to such scorelines.