Tony Mowbray makes frank admission on Blackburn Rovers’ out of contract players

Blackburn Rovers boss Tony Mowbray has revealed some of those players who are out of contract in the summer are likely to leave the club, making this honest admission to Lancs Live ahead of tonight’s local derby against Preston North End.

The Lancashire outfit are currently in danger of losing some of their most important assets in the coming months with Joe Rothwell, Ryan Nyambe, Darragh Lenihan and Bradley Johnson all set to leave the club at this stage.

Talisman Ben Brereton-Diaz’s deal also expires in the summer, but the Championship side have the opportunity to extend his stay for a further 12 months, a much-needed boost for Rovers who will want to retain their top goalscorer for as long as possible.

However, they don’t have that same luxury with the likes of Rothwell, Nyambe and Lenihan, all of whom have also been an integral part of Tony Mowbray’s promotion-chasing team this term.

Back in December, Mowbray claimed it was only money that was stopping some players from signing fresh terms at Ewood Park and a similar emphasis was placed on finances when the 58-year-old gave a latest update on negotiations.

At this point, he believes a few of his key assets may be on the way out despite still having a chance of reaching the play-offs at this stage.

He said: “You can only pay what you pay as a football club, the intention has been there to sign those players under contract.

“The club has to be careful, it has to have a structure, it has to know what it pays its top players and once those numbers start to get exceeded and go beyond you either start to gamble with the future of the club or you keep rolling.

“At this moment it looks as though some people are going to leave the football club. I speak to the players every