DAVID Dunn and his fellow Blackburn Rovers team-mates believe boss Gary Bowyer has made the perfect decision to hand Grant Hanley the club’s captaincy.

Academy graduate Hanley marked his appointment as the new Rovers skipper by scoring the crucial second goal in Saturday’s 2-0 home victory over Blackpool.

Dunn, who broke the deadlock with a solo strike, is delighted for the 22-year-old.

And he has no doubt that Hanley will go on to become a great leader for Rovers.

“Grant is what every young player at this club should want to be,” said Dunn, 34, a past Rovers captain.

“The commitment that he shows, how well he has done and the attitude he shows every single day.

“He’s a leader and a winner so he was certainly the stand-out choice for me.”

Bowyer could have turned to more experienced players like Dunn, Paul Robinson or Matt Kilgallon to take over the captain’s armband after skipper Scott Dann’s transfer deadline day departure to Crystal Palace for a fee that could rise to more than £2million.

But the Rovers boss had no hesitation in naming the Scotland international as Dann’s successor.

Bowyer said: “I’ve seen Grant do the job for many a year at youth and reserve level – he’s captain material.

“I know other people have spoken about him being national captain for Scotland one day and I honestly believe he’ll do that too.

“He is an organiser and he leads by example – not just on matchday but every day in training.

“He gets the respect of the older players as well, which says a hell of a lot for him as a person and as a player.”

Hanley’s fellow defender Tommy Spurr backed up his manager.

Left-back Spurr, 26, said: “Everyone knows how good Grant is and the stature that he has – everyone respects him.

“But the lads all respect each other so whoever would have stepped in would have had the same.

“But I think Grant’s perfect for it.”

The win over Blackpool stretched Rovers’ unbeaten run in the Championship to three matches.

But Dunn admitted it was vital to pick up the three points after having to settle for draws against Barnsley and Derby County.

He said: "After drawing the last two games – games which we thought we could have got a little bit more out of – it was important to get the win.

“I was pleased with my goal and the performance although I was a little disappointed we stopped playing a little bit in the second half.

“But the lads showed great resilience to go and get that second goal and put the game to bed.”

Rovers boss Bowyer confirmed he will have to assess the injury which forced substitute Josh King to come off 20 minutes after coming on during Saturday’s win.