More options going forward, and feeling fitter than ever, Adam Armstrong says Rovers are in a good place.

The striker has six goals and already has his sights on beating the 17 he managed last season when Rovers fell short of the top six.

That’s the ambition this time around, and although the 23-year-old believes as many as 12 teams will harbour such hopes, he feels Rovers have the fitness to last the distance.

Avoiding injuries will be key, with Rovers carrying a smaller squad than last season, but Armstrong has seen enough progression during his time at the club to feel they have a strong chance this term.

“The gaffer said he wanted to progress this team to try and get towards the Premier League and I feel it has got better since I’ve been here, we’ve had a great start so let’s hope that can keep up,” he said.

“I feel we’ve got more options, we’ve worked on it for two seasons and everyone knows what the gaffer wants and how we want to play. It feels like it’s coming together, we’ve got more forward runners, more people in the box to score goals, and I think that’s what we were missing last season, scoring the tap-ins, the scrappy goals, we didn’t get loads of them last season.

“For myself I’ve had about four tap-ins.”

Armstrong is yet to net any of his customary long-rangers this season, settling for six goals inside the box, including two from the spot.

Rovers pressed Derby into mistakes last weekend, and the demonstrative frontman, playing in his favoured central striking role, feels fitness has been key to that.

“We’ve had a great start, it’s going well. The lads have gone on from last season when we were close to the play-offs and taken confidence from that and we’re working well together and pushing each other to get to where we want to be,” he told the Counter Attack Podcast.

“Pre-season was good, everyone feels way fitter than last season. From the minute we came we were running constantly and we’ve been doing that in games. Hopefully that keeps up.”

Armstrong netted nine in 18 games during his loan spell in 2018 which helped Rovers to promotion, matching that in 2018/19 as they finished 15th in the Championship. He almost doubled that last term, and if early season form is anything to go, he could well push for 20 this term.

As for his Angel of the North celebration, he explained: “We had a game against Bristol City away and I was on the bench and it was 1-0 and I went through and scored and all the fans were abusing me, so I went and stood and smiled.

“Then I saw a tweet after the game saying ‘Angel of the North’ and then I’ve stuck with it.”

Interest from the Premier League will only heighten with every goal Armstrong scores, but it’s nothing new to the former Newcastle United man.

His loan spell at Coventry under Mowbray in 2015/16, in which he scored 20 times, saw his name linked with countless clubs, instead going onto sign a new deal with Newcastle.

As Armstrong puts it, moves away from any club are often out of the players’ control, but he insists he is focus is on helping Rovers to the Premier League after the club gave him the opportunity to progress his career in the way he wanted two years ago.

“It’s hard, you get so much ‘these want you’ but nothing is ever concrete,” he explained.

“I had that at Coventry a lot. It got to January and lots of teams were said to be interested, but I’m pretty good with that kind of stuff, I’ve never let it get to my head, if it goes to you head you think you’re better than you are.

“I’ve always been of the mindset of keep working hard and what will be will be. That’s how I see it.

“It’s out of your control. It’s not me who’s going to go around looking for other clubs thinking I’m better than Blackburn, no way, I’m here because Blackburn have shown trust in me and to help them get to the Premier League and that’s all that’s on my mind.”

Mowbray entrusted Armstrong to be his No.9 at Coventry five years ago when the striker was just a teenage prospect. So there are few better to talk about the manager's demeanour.

“He’s great, the lads love him, he wears his heart on his sleeve and has a proper winning mentality. He’s shown with us how progressive we are and for me to be a part of it it’s mint.

“He’s a good man-manager, he knows when to put his arm around you, but has the other side where he can tell you to buck your ideas up.

“He has a mixture of everything.”