"I have just spoken to Danny Batth" - Tony Mowbray reveals Blackburn Rovers, John Eustace stance | OneFootball

West Brom manager Tony Mowbray chatted with former player and Blackburn Rovers defender Danny Batth after the game

Tony Mowbray revealed that Danny Batth told him how Blackburn Rovers were “galvanised” to beat West Bromwich Albion by the departure of manager John Eustace to Derby County.

Much of the build-up to the clash between play-off hopefuls West Brom and Blackburn had been dominated by the news that Eustace had been approached by Championship strugglers Derby.

Whilst first stating that he would take charge of Rovers’ trip to the Hawthorns, Eustace was absent on Wednesday night as a Makhtar Gueye double gave Blackburn a 2-0 win away at West Brom.

Instead, David Lowe led the side, with the interim head coach now expected to remain in charge for Saturday’s home clash with Plymouth Argyle.

Eustace’s appointment at Derby was confirmed on Thursday morning, with Rovers currently looking for a replacement.

Tony Mowbray gives praise to former club Blackburn Rovers after “difficult week”

Mowbray, who enjoyed a five-year stint with Blackburn between 2017 and 2022, gave credit to his former employers for their performance away from home.

Victory saw the Lancashire outfit leapfrog the Baggies into fifth in the Championship table, with West Brom dropping to the final play-off spot of sixth.

“You have to congratulate them and say well done, they did a good job,” Mowbray told West Brom’s club media.

“They came, were extremely solid, worked extremely hard.”

Mowbray shares details of post-match chat with ex-player Danny Batth

Mowbray then revealed the contents of a discussion with one of his former players, Danny Batth.

Batth played 37 times under Mowbray at Sunderland between 2023 and 2024.

The defender told Mowbray how Blackburn had been motivated by Eustace’s sudden exit, with the West Brom manager admitting he could sense that Rovers were “really up for the game”.

Mowbray shared: “It has been a difficult week for them but I have just spoken to Danny Batth, who I had at Sunderland, talking about how the team were galvanised by what happened this week.

“It made the players really stick together and he said you could sense it before the game, they were really up for the game.”

Mowbray: Ruled-out Adam Armstrong strike sometimes given

Whilst disappointed by his own side’s performance, Mowbray also felt hard done by the match officials.

With Blackburn up a goal, Southampton loanee Adam Armstrong saw a potential equaliser ruled out for a foul on Rovers defender Dominic Hyam.

Armstrong headed home past Aynsley Pears, but was deemed to have fouled Hyam by pushing him away whilst jumping for the ball.

West Brom were further frustrated when Tottenham Hotspur loanee Will Shankshear saw another possible equaliser ruled out for offside.

“I think the unfortunate thing for us was the positioning of the referee,” Mowbray complained.

“How is Adam Armstrong going to push over a 6ft 4 centre-half?

“I think he probably put his hands on the boy’s back and headed the ball into the net. The referee was probably looking right down the line at it.

“Some would give it, some would not give it.

“If the ref was in a different position and never saw Adam put his hands on the boy’s back, we would have carried on and it would have been a goal.”

After sharing his distaste for how softly West Brom conceded against Blackburn, Mowbray will hope his charges are able to secure their first clean sheet in 12 games in their next match.

West Brom last recorded a clean sheet under previous boss Carlos Corberan, back in a 2-0 victory over Bristol City in December 2024.

Baggies return to action this weekend, when they travel to Millwall on Saturday, February 15.

The return fixture between the two sides at the Hawthorns resulted in a 0-0 draw back at the start of October.