'They’ve been a credit to themselves': Blackburn Rovers boss Tony Mowbray pays tribute to Blackpool

The Seasiders head to Ewood Park looking to get back to winning ways after suffering consecutive defeats.

Nevertheless, Critchley’s men are enjoying an excellent campaign and are still within touching distance of a top-half finish.

This weekend they face a Rovers side who are still in contention for the top six, despite winning just two of their last 12 games.

Speaking ahead of the game, Mowbray had nothing but praise for Critchley’s outfit.

“They’re a competitive team who have made life very difficult for a lot of Championship clubs this season," he said.

“They’ve been a credit to themselves to come up and do so well. Neil’s a very talented coach and it will be a tough game for us.

“They generally play 4-4-2, they leave no spaces between the lines. We have to go and bring our personality to the game and give everything we've got.

“They have experience in their squad with Richard Keogh at the back and [Gary] Madine up front. They’ll fight for every ball.

“They make life really difficult for you and we need to go and bring our personality to the game. There are three points at stake and it’s just as important as all the rest.

“The points this weekend are pretty critical for us. It’s at home and we’re looking forward to this weekend.”

Darragh Lenihan and Ryan Nyambe are both injury doubts for Rovers, who will also be without Deyovaisio Zeefuik, Daniel Ayala, Reda Khadra, Ian Poveda and Dilan Markanday.