BLACKBURN Rovers are ‘committed’ to securing the long-term future of Connor Mahoney, according to Director of Football Operations Paul Senior.

Mahoney’s deal expires in the summer and the club risk losing him for a nominal tribunal fee should he not sign a new contract.

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The 20-year-old insists he is preferring to concentrate on helping Rovers to survival in the Championship, rather than his contract situation, believing his future will ‘take care of itself’.

Ewood boss Owen Coyle has already stated how keen he is for Mahoney to remain at Rovers and the club have offered the wideman a new deal which as yet remains unsigned.

The winger put in another impressive cameo off the bench in Sunday’s FA Cup defeat to Manchester United, having been handed his first Championship start of the season against Sheffield Wednesday on February 14.

And Senior admits Mahoney is a big part of the club’s plans.

“Initial talks have taken place and dialogue is ongoing,” Senior said of Mahoney’s contract talks.

“We believe he has a bright future and he is very much in our plans going forward.

“We remain committed to keeping him at the club for the long-term.”

Mahoney joined Rovers in 2013 from neighbours Accrington Stanley and signed his first professional contract on his 17th birthday in February 2014.

By that stage he had already made his Rovers bow, becoming the club’s third youngest debutant at 16 years and 337 days when he came on in the FA Cup third round replay defeat to Manchester City in January 2014.

Any club interested in securing Mahoney’s services would need to agree a fee with Rovers, or see that set by a tribunal, were Mahoney not to sign a new deal.

When asked about his contract situation, Mahoney told the Lancashire Telegraph: “I’m out of contract in the summer but my main focus is getting Blackburn to where they need to be, which is up the table.

“So I’m not really concentrating on my contract situation.

“My main focus is to get the team where they need to be, keep picking up points and then that will take care of itself.”

Mahoney admits he is starting to feel more of a part of the first-team squad after his recent run of appearances.

He is likely to feature heavily in the remaining 15 games of the season and is confident that Rovers can beat the drop.

“One hundred per cent there’s a confidence that we can stay up,” Mahoney added.

“We’ve shown that against some of the top teams, Newcastle, Derby and Sheffield Wednesday, although we didn’t get the result there.

“We know we’re capable of doing it and there’s 15 games left so we need to get as many points on board as possible and start climbing the table as soon as possible.

“Everyone needs a bit luck and I don’t think we got that (at Sheffield Wednesday). It was there for everyone to see.

“We scored three goals but only came out with one, obviously (there was) the red card, so if luck’s on our side hopefully we can start climbing up the ladder.”