Blackburn had acquitted themselves nicely in the Championship upon their return, but recent results have suggested that midtable mediocrity might be the order of the season.

Those who do remember the season they went down will surely be happy with the progress Tony Mowbray has made with the squad, but there's also a train of thought that they must not stand still.

Progression is constant and the team has evolved since the beginning of the season and must continue to do so. If they're going to become a consistent and established Championship side, one with Premier League aspirations, then they need to have one eye on January.

There's a couple of areas that we can see Mowbray wanting to bring in new faces and although the budget might be less than that of a top side, he's used to working with limited funds.

He could always sell Bradley Dack to generate income for the next phase, but that might be a risky strategy.

Here's the transfer approach we think Tony Mowbray should be taking once the window opens in the new year.

The need a centre back, without a doubt.

Jack Rodwell played next to Charlie Mulgrew this week and that simply isn't acceptable.

They could start by recalling Scott Wharton from Lincoln and getting the youngster around the first team, but they'll have one eye on an experienced centre-half too.

Surely, Mowbray must be thinking about replacing Dack, or at least bringing in a player who can do so in the summer.

There will be a huge fight just to keep him in January, so surely there's a need to look elsewhere.

If they're canny, Josh Morris of Scunthorpe might be a good one to go for. He's creative, forward thinking and might be available for a decent price.

An ageing Danny Graham has led the line, Ben Brereton has arrived without making a huge splash and those two pose an issue.

Mowbray won't have the millions needed to make a swoop for a striker, but he does need to improve his attacking options if he can.

Maybe a loan move for Villa's Scott Hogan, or indeed an out of favour top-flight player would work well?

Look at the impact Mitrovic had for Fulham last season. They need someone like that to come in and lift them to the next level.