Rovers boss Tony Mowbray says he has ‘no indication’ of whether his budget will be cut this summer but admits: ‘I’m pretty sure it will be an economical decision’.

After seeing their play-off hopes mathematically end with defeat to Millwall on Tuesday night, Rovers will be playing Championship football for a third consecutive season as another mid-table finish beckons for Mowbray’s side.

This will be the fourth summer in charge for Mowbray, who took over at Ewood Park in February 2017, but the first in which he won’t travel to India to meet the club’s owners.

It is then where budgets have been thrashed out, and the manager hopes knowing which division Rovers will be playing their football in next season could be the clarity the owners were looking for before deciding what funds would be available.

But Mowbray accepts the football landscape will look different this summer, given the Covid-19 pandemic and uncertainty when supporters will be allowed back in to the stadiums.

That will have a big impact on revenue streams, but asked if he expected a reduction to his budget for next season, Mowbray said: “I don’t expect anything until I’m told. I don’t know how their businesses are, I’ve got no indication whatsoever.

“I’m pretty sure it will be an economical decision that’s made and we’ll have to see where that takes us.”

Rovers will need to rebuild this summer, with six players out of contract and the loan deals of Christian Walton and Tosin Adarabioyo, regulars throughout the season, ending after the Luton Town game next week.

Mowbray will meet with members of his squad next week, with several important players moving in to the final 12 months of their respective deals, but the manager has committed to working within whatever funds are made available.

He has already stressed that improving the options currently at his disposal will be vital, should the amount of incomings be restricted, as will calling on the club’s Academy prospects.

“We’ve gone to India every summer that I’ve been here and discussed what the budget is going to be, what it was, what’s the expectation,” he added.

“Ultimately for a football manager it’s about what your expectation is, what do you want, what are you thinking is realistic?

“The world is different this summer. Ultimately, the owners will decide what the budget is going to be. They know what it is this year, we’ve got some players out of contract, they will know what the committed money for next year is and what they want that committed money to be.

“We have to manage inside that budget. If the budget is getting reduced, we already have a committed amount, so for the out of contract players there will only be a limited amount of money to spend, it’s whether we give them some of that money or get new players to try and improve and get better.

“Those are the conundrums. It’s difficult to say we’re going to keep these players, or do this, without knowing the budget because I might sit here and say we’ve got to keep everybody, but if the budget is reduced by X million then we can’t keep everyone because the numbers have to fit.

“Most people understand there’s a number and you have to put the salaries of all the players within that. In my three years here I’ve never exceeded the number I’ve been given, worked within the budget, it’s something I’ve always managed to do at every club I’ve been at, work within the budget you’ve been given.”

Mowbray acknowledges Rovers won’t be alone in needing to box clever in the summer, with all clubs impacted by the current pandemic and the financial challenges that has brought.

And it’s for that reason that Mowbray says assumptions that it will be more difficult to launch a promotion push next season can’t be made.

“You don’t know what everyone else is doing either. There are 24 teams in the Championship next season, how many are reducing?” he added.

“What I don’t know is how anyone else in the league is going to be. You know that the three teams coming down from the Premier League with have £40m in parachute payment, before they even have their own level of income coming in to the club.

“That gives them an advantage, but they might have a £100m wage bill, so how do they make the numbers work, unless they gamble in that first season of getting back?

“There are lots of different scenarios, conundrums, we’re just one team out of 24 that’s just trying to find a way, whichever way the owners think is the best way for the club moving forward.

“Supporters will all want lots of money thrown at it, lots of new players, 'keep pushing on and getting better and we’ll get to the Premier League'. But I think this summer will be different for a lot of clubs.”