Rovers head to Millwall tomorrow evening having steadied the ship somewhat after a run of three straight defeats.

A New Year’s Day win over West Brom and 1-1 FA Cup draw at Newcastle United came after losses against the division’s top three sides, Norwich, Leeds and Sheffield United, with late goals proving their undoing.

Tony Mowbray’s side have dropped to 15th, but the boss says performances in their last two matches “weren’t too dissimilar” to those over the Christmas period.

He explained “I thought we played at the same intensity, the same performance levels.

“Sometimes things get overridden by the result. If you lose 3-0 at Sheffield United the perception is that it was terrible, a shocking performance, but for 70 minutes we were pretty good. With a full quota of players on the pitch I felt we were more than a match for a team I’d regard as probably the best team we have played in the division.

“It’s those fine margins. The story of Elland Road will probably go down in history of how we had the game won after 90 minutes but threw it away in the last four minutes. For 90 minutes we showed a competitive edge against a really good team.

“Norwich are a surprise package. If you’re not spot on against Norwich you will get beat. They score a lot of goals with the way they play.

“We lost those games but I felt the performance and intensity levels of the team were just as high as they were against the last two teams.

“We got results against West Brom and Newcastle. This team can amaze you with their work ethic, their camaraderie and work ethic, and I’m pretty sure we will keep that going.

“Every now and then, a Preston and Wigan away comes out of nowhere, but this team are giving everything.”

Rovers head to the New Den to face a Millwall team buoyed by a run of four consecutive wins.

Strong home form has been key to that run, and Mowbray knows what challenge to expect.

He added: “You look at the form of the team you are playing and Millwall have won four on the bounce.

“I don’t think anyone will ever look at Millwall away and think ‘that’s a game we should go there and expect to win’.

“You know what’s coming when you playing Millwall away. You have to be 100 per cent on your game, you have to be ready for a competitive game and ready for the crowd who get right behind their team.

“You have to deal with their directness and their set plays, it’s a tough, tough place to go.

“It’s a winnable game but only if we’re at our resilient best, and when we are then we can win any game in this league.

“If we are slightly off it then we can lose to anyone.”