Rovers have notoriously struggled to strengthen in the New Year but with the promise of funds from Venky's, Tony Mowbray is hopeful of bolstering his squad.

Money was left over from the summer, with three deals breaking down late on deadline day. The owners have said that money will be reinvested to aid the squad in January.

Discussions about where those funds can be utilised have begun with Rovers keen to be proactive in bringing in fresh faces.

"That started early," Mowbray told Lancashire Telegraph.

"We're more than a few weeks into the discussions and they'll continue every week and see how things are going.

"We will try and be ready for when January comes because it looks just around the corner. So yeah, that's ongoing with what we want to do in that market."

With Rovers sat 10th after 12 games, fans are hoping that with some January additions, they could be a surprise dark horse in the play-off raise.

That is a real shift from pre-season expectations, where a season avoiding relegation would have been welcome.

Despite a positive start, Mowbray insists nobody at the club is getting carried away at their early point.

"I think we're just taking the games as they come," Mowbray said.

"I think it depends on what you look at. There are some stats out there that are potentially negative.

"Are we just scoring a high percentage of our chances? Are we creating as many chances as West Ham and Swansea and Middlesbrough? Probably not.

(Image: CameraSport - Lee Parker)

"We're a work in progress, I think, and that's what I'm trying to say there. There is plenty to work on.

"We are certainly not getting carried away with anything and we try to do that every training day, every day on the grass.

"We're trying to keep reinforcing what we do and how we do it and then reinforce it in the team meetings and in the video rooms.

"Nobody's getting carried away. Let's stay as humble as we can to the point of let's just try and be really competitive in every game."

Rovers fans some tough but exciting fixtures in the next week. A trip to Swansea is followed by a doubleheader of in-form Stoke City and West Ham at Ewood Park.

Mowbray wants to pit his side against the best in the division to test where they are.

"We want to give the teams at the top end of the table with the big budgets; let's give them a game," he said.

"Let's let them feel our quality if we can in possession. Nobody in this football club is thinking we've cracked it and it's all going great.

"We've got lots to work on still in and out of possession. I'm pleased with the clean sheet (vs Wrexham) because emotionally, it's good for the defenders and the goalkeeper because it's not something that we've prioritised.

"We've prioritised getting to the opposition goal and trying to score goals.

"But we obviously realise that if you can't keep throwing goals in at the other end, it's not a recipe for continued success.

"So we need to keep working as a group, keep working hard."