At a time when some managers aren’t reaching 100 days in their job, Tony Mowbray marked his century of games in charge of Rovers against Newcastle United.

Such is the pressure placed on their shoulders, Mowbray, not yet two years in to the job, is already the 28th longest serving managers of the 92 Premier League and EFL bosses.

He took charge of a Rovers side struggling for results and confidence in February 2017 as they battled against the drop.

Mowbray had 15 games to try and save their season, and despite an impressive haul of 22 points, they were relegated to League One on goal difference.

But the feeling surrounding club, and faith in the job that he had done, was such that he signed a new deal after talks in India with owners Venky’s and returned to lead a successful promotion charge.

A strong start to any managerial job now seems more important than ever, and Mowbray said: “When you go in to a new club there is so much to do, so many relationships to build, so much to get across to people.

“Those first however many days just whizz by and the games roll on. Those first 15 games were a bit of a whirlwind for me coming here in the Championship season.

“I felt we did all right. We only lost three games, we won five and drew seven, but from being in the bottom three when I came here, it felt as if we did all right. I felt I created a bond with some of the players who are still here today.

“Modern day football, you have to try and get off to a good start because you might not last 100 days if you don’t.”

The world of social media can be a daunting place after a Rovers defeat. Mowbray has only tasted that on 21 occasions so far, but has come in for criticism from supporters at times.

“It’s so demanding,” Mowbray said of modern day management.

“With the world of social media there are so many opinions, so many people who can do a better job than you, do it differently to you, pick a different team, would leave two men up from corners, would zonally mark, everyone has an opinion on everything.

“You have to stay single minded, do what you believe is right, have good advice, keep your ears open and watch games.”

Key to Mowbray’s management is ability to take on new information and incorporating his players in the work they do.

With team meetings every morning, he regularly speaks with his senior players and admits: “I believe that in modern day football you incorporate your players in some pretty crucial decisions, how we’re going to play, what we’re going to do.

“I have a senior leadership team that I talk to on a pretty regular basis about our game-plans and how we’re going to do it and they take it on to the pitch and make it work.

“I’m including them in the philosophy of what we do and how we play.

“So it’s not just when we lose it’s the manager’s fault, if we lose, we lose together and if we win then we’ve done it together. It’s just ‘I’m great because we’ve won and I’m rubbish if we lose’.

“Modern day football dictates that players are pretty powerful, the higher you go up the bigger influence they can have, so I think it’s important you do incorporate them on how you plan and prepare.”