Blackburn have been in fine form this season and currently sit fourth in the Championship table having won their last four games. 

They'll be hoping to extend that run of form today when they come up against Birmingham City at Ewood Park later today.

Rovers go into that game off the back of an excellent 2-0 win awat to automatic promotion chasers Bournemouth at The Vitality Stadium last time out.

Reflecting on that win, and the attributes he wants to see from his side that were on show on the south coast, Mowbray told the Lancashire Telegraph: "Focus, testing themselves, concentration, that is what we asked them.

“We asked them to test themselves against one of the best teams in the league and I thought they applied themselves really well.

“The players were immense with their application and their concentration was really good. It was a really good result. On the day everything went well for us.”

Blackburn could move into third with a win over Birmingham City, just one point off Bournemouth in second.

The Verdict

Mowbray is right to set these sorts of targets for his players. They've been in this position before under Mowbray having sat close to the playoffs around the halfway mark in the season in the last two seasons.

Rovers fell away in the second half of the season in each of those games and it will be a test of both Mowbray and this squad as to whether or not they can last the course of the season.

With Rovers being in a very healthy position on the pitch and squad-wise, this is a great opportunity for them to make a go of a playoff push.