Rovers felt the absence of Bradley Dack in the goalless draw with Stoke City, according to Tony Mowbray, but did concede his side have fared well without their star man.

A 0-0 draw with Stoke City on Wednesday saw Rovers fail to capitalise on other midweek results that went their way in the battle for a top six finish.

Rovers were frustrated by a disciplined Stoke City side, themselves in need of points in their quest to avoid the drop, but are quickly back in action on home soil when Swansea City arrive at Ewood Park on Saturday.

Mowbray anticipates a much different game against the free-flowing Swans, having been frustrated with how his side couldn’t find a way through the Potters on Wednesday night.

“It is a frustration,” Mowbray told the Lancashire Telegraph, “We needed a bit of individuality behind their midfield three.

“I don’t want to make it about Bradley this and Bradley that, because the team have found a way to function and yet Dack scores scruffy goals in these tight games and makes the difference.

“He sticks it between someone’s legs and side-foots it in to the corner and knows where the space and arrives in the six-yard box and scores.

“At this moment, as you’ve seen, Adam doesn’t generally score those type of goals, but we keep going.

“If it’s more difficult against the teams that come and stodge it up then that’s what it is and we have to find another.

“Maybe you put Graham up front in these games, but I let the game run.

“It would have been nice to win that game 1-0, they came pretty defensive and they got the point they came for.”

Mowbray felt Stoke tinkered their approach in a bid to contain Rovers, and said of their game-plan that proved successful: “If you look at the way they played, normally they play with one sitter and two No.8s who look to play forward and play around the box.

“They dropped them in and played like a flat three with two wide players who tucked in.

“It was really difficult to get through because normally we would play two No.10s around their one sitting midfielder, but they narrowed it off and played deep to nullify Armstrong’s speed.

“Michael is a wily fox and he has been around the game a long time and has played against better teams than Blackburn Rovers with Northern Ireland. He’s played against world champions in Germany and knows how to make life difficult for those teams and there was a bit of that knowledge in there.

“It was more difficult than other games we have faced.”