Tony Mowbray makes new Blackburn Rovers relegation claim after what he saw v Wolves | OneFootball

Tony Mowbray has discussed Blackburn's survival chances after their 2-2 draw against Wolves

Tony Mowbray is confident that Blackburn Rovers can survive relegation from the Championship following their 2-2 draw against Wolves on Friday night.

The Old Gold initially took the lead in the 18th minute through Marshall Munetsi, before goals from Sean McLoughlin and Andri Gudjohnsen either side of half-time put the Lancashire outfit ahead.

However, a controversial stoppage time penalty from Raul Jimenez salvaged a point for Cesar Peixoto in the opening fixture of the new Championship season.

Blackburn have been tipped by many to be involved at the bottom of the table in the campaign ahead after they narrowly avoided relegation in 2025/26.

This was Mowbray’s first game in charge for his second stint as Rovers boss, having returned to Ewood Park over the summer in place of Michael O’Neill.

And he will be hoping to guide the club to an improvement on their 20th place finish from last season.

Tony Mowbray backs Blackburn to survive

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Mowbray is confident that Blackburn can survive in the Championship following the 2-2 draw against Wolves, although he’s made it clear that he wants more goals from his team.

He revealed that he urged his players to enjoy playing football, and to remember how great it was as a child, as he looks to motivate his side to play more aggressively this season, having used pundit predictions about their demise to spur on their performance against Wolves.

"I drove up today, and listened to all these radio stations, saw a bit of Sky and all the pundits had us all in the relegation zone, or just about the relegation zone," said Mowbray, via Sky Sports

"It can be a motivation for people.

"I think, having been in this league a long time, for a lot of years, I think the power of the dressing room is crucial.

"Any motivational tool you can use is important.

"I think we’re going to be fine.

"I think we need to score more goals, as I’ve said, scored two away today to Wolverhampton.

"We’ve got to play Middlesbrough next Saturday at home, who I think are probably the best football retention team in the league, so we’ll see how we get on.

"But hopefully we can find a performance level again to match tonight, and even surpass it, and we can keep pushing on and enjoying our football.

"I’ve said to them your football career is short, you have to enjoy football, you’ve got to love it, you’ve got to want to play every week, and come off the pitch finding that inner child I call it.

"Finding the lad when you used to play under 12s and score six goals every game.

"You have to love football, and I think they did tonight."

Blackburn finished 15th, 11th, 15th and eighth under Mowbray after he led the club to promotion from League One in 2019.

But he departed in 2022 following the expiration of his contract, which led to him managing the likes of Sunderland, Birmingham City and West Brom before returning to Ewood Park this summer.

Rovers struggled for consistent form last season, with the team finishing just five points clear of the bottom three.

Next up for Mowbray’s side in the league is a home clash against Middlesbrough on 22 August.

Blackburn’s summer business

Blackburn have not been particularly active in the transfer market compared to some of their Championship rivals.

Rovers completed a permanent move for Moussa Baradji, who spent time on loan with the club last season.

Jayden Fevrier and Sam Morsy have also made the move to Ewood Park, and they both came off the bench to make their debut in the 2-2 draw against Wolves on Friday.

Blackburn have until 1 September to complete any remaining business before the market shuts.

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Blackburn’s encouraging Wolves performance

Blackburn were unfortunate to concede a controversial late penalty, as they otherwise were in line for a fantastic opening day result.

Wolves are among the favourites to compete for automatic promotion, so earning a point away at Molineux is a positive start regardless.

Mowbray has his work cut out for him at Ewood Park due to the lack of quality or resources at his disposal, but fans will be feeling better about the team off the back of that performance.

Blackburn have two home games up next, so that will offer the club a platform to get some early points on the board in what will be a long campaign ahead.