Callum Brittain is relishing coming up against former boss Valerien Ismael when Rovers head to Watford this weekend.

Brittain played under the Frenchman during his time at Barnsley, having made 82 appearances for the Yorkshire club before heading to Ewood Park.

The defender only has positive things to say about his time working with Ismael, who took charge at Vicarage Road over the summer.

The 47-year-old gave Brittain his first taste of Championship football after coming through the youth ranks at MK Dons.

“I had him during my first year at Barnsley and he’s someone who demands high intensity,” he told RoversTV.

“He’s a good manager and someone who really helped me when I first came to the Championship. He was a big influence on me and helped me a lot.

“It was my first taste of stepping up to Championship level and he really helped me in that regard. He helped me with a lot of individual bits to develop me as a player.

“I expect Watford to have high intensity with lots of high pressing. There will maybe be some longer balls and they will really try to punish you in the final third.

“I know a bit about his style and I’ll look to help as much as possible by relaying that to the lads. It’ll be nice to come up against him.”

Brittain hasn’t started a league game since the start of the campaign but slotted in at left-back against Hull City last weekend after Harry Pickering’s red card.

The former Barnsley man admits it wasn’t easy coming off the bench in such circumstances but felt there were plenty of positives to take from the side’s performance after going down to 10 men.

Brittain is keen to keep getting minutes under his belt – even if that means playing on the left of defence again.

“We have had a few ups and a few downs so far this season,” the versatile defender added. “We have played in games where a team has had 10 men twice, one that has gone in our favour and one that hasn’t.

“I think we have performed well, we still need to take out chances, but it has been a pretty positive start to the season.

“It was a little bit chaotic coming on (last weekend), but credit to the boys for making things a lot easier.

“We played well and I felt we took it to Hull, creating chances to get something out of the game. It was just unfortunate that it wasn’t the case with the result, but we can take positives from that game.

“I just want to help the team as much as I can. If I can play and we can get some results, I’ll always be a happy man.

“I think I’ve probably played left back more than I’ve played right back for Rovers so far, but as long as I can get on the pitch and perform, I’ll be happy.”