Walters is a man on a mission

The Wirral-born youngster first burst onto the scene last year with a staggering 38 goals in his debut season.

And he remains on course to top that figure this time around after his latest brace in the Under-19s 2-2 draw with Crewe at the weekend.

Walters' double took his tally for the season to an impressive 12 and it came hot on the heels of his two-goal salvo in a 2-0 win over Bolton last weekend.

"Jonathan hasn't been around at the club since he was 12, so we've had to do a lot of work with him in a very short period of time," said Academy chief, Bobby Downes.

"But he's improving every week and anyone who scores the amount of goals he does has every chance of getting a first team opportunity at some point in the future.

"His all-round game has come on in leaps and bounds over the last 12 months and he's got that priceless ability of being able to put the ball in the back of the net on a consistent basis."

Walters' scoring exploits helped to maintain the Under-19s recent good run.

"It was a good game between two good sides," added Downes.

"Crewe have been going well this season and they tend to treat their Under 19s as more of a reserve side so it was a good test for us."

Meanwhile, Rob Kelly's Under 17s romped to an impressive 4-0 win over Alex thanks to goals from Phil Howard (2), Jerome Watt and Jay McEveley.

"I didn't see that game but by all accounts it was an outstanding display and I heard Jerome Watt was particularly impressive."

Next up for Rovers are Manchester United at the weekend and Downes expects two further tough encounters.

"That's going to be difficult because both of their teams are strong -- in particular their Under-17s.

"But we've had some good results against them over the last few years and these are the games you look forward to."