Michael O’Neill wants his Stoke City side to show some resilience when they make the trip to Ewood Park on Wednesday night.

The Potters have won four of their last seven matches, including the weekend win over Cardiff, but are still just three points above the dropzone.

Rovers have eyes on the top six, and O’Neill is anticipating a tough game.

“Yes, they are in good form. Had a good run, then a blip, but have obviously corrected that,” he said of Rovers.

“They’ve lost Dack but now have Armstrong and we know what to expect.

“It will be tough, but we have to go there with that resilience and make sure we cause them problems as well.”

O’Neill is still adapting to the cut and thrust of managing in the Championship, after time in charge of Northern Ireland, and he added: It’s been a challenge, there’s no doubt about that.

“The turnaround I don’t have an issue with, it’s just the time you don’t have to review the previous game which I’d like to do.

“But when you are winning games it’s much easier because you look more in depth at games when you are losing them.

“There’s a lot of work to be done in a short space of time when it comes to preparation, but our staff have done well to make sure we are as well prepared as we can be.”

One player Rovers know all about, from his time at Wigan, is Nick Powell who has been impressing his manager of late.

He told his pre-match press conference: “Nick is a good example, a very talented player who we took time to get into the team and then on Saturday I thought he adjusted well away from his favoured position.

“It’s necessary because we need a focused group of players prepared to go that extra mile.”