Jon Dahl Tomasson has been encouraged by the number of chances his Rovers side are creating – but insists they need to be more ruthless in the final third.

Tomasson’s side had several good opportunities in their 3-0 defeat at Plymouth last weekend but ultimately failed to make them count.

It was a problem that plagued Rovers last season as they narrowly missed out on a top six spot despite boasting impressive defensive numbers.

Tomasson says his side need to be more composed at the vital moments if they are to keep progressing.

“We need to be better. We are still creating a lot of chances and we should try to keep on creating those chances,” he told The Lancashire Telegraph.

“We did that in the last 16 games last season, more or less form the beginning of the year. Football is about getting into the right areas.

“If you are able to do that more than your opponent, the chances of winning games are higher. But at the end of the day, we need to score goals and be clinical in those areas.

“We need to improve that the connection in the final third – it can be the pass, the decision-making or the quality of run, and of course the finish. We need goals to win games.”

Stoppage time has been a key talking point in the EFL since the start of the campaign, with officials taking a stricter approach to stamp out time wasting.

Tomasson has been a big supporter of the new rules and believes they should have been implemented years ago.

However, the Dane knows that dealing with the increase in playing time could be tricky over the season while the squad is still light in numbers in a couple of positions.

Prior to the Plymouth game, Tomasson was asked if he thinks the League could revert to the old rules for adding on time at the end of halves. He replied: “Hopefully not because then we are killing the product.

“The fans are paying to watch football and you can’t watch football if the ball is not in play, if the ‘keeper is taking ages or if players are taking ages every time the ball goes out of play.

“The fans are not paying small money, they are paying a lot of money to watch football so hopefully it is not going back to that.

“I saw a game last season – Blackpool v Millwall - where they played 39 minutes! That is a joke, we can’t do that with our product.

“We need the product for years to come, and the passion and love for the game. Maybe not 12 or 13 minutes but let’s find the right amount of minutes.

“If the goalkeeper or the opponent steals six or seven minutes every game, it is a joke.”