BUSY Gary Bowyer will be glued to the box for the next month in a bid to make Blackburn Rovers stronger.

The Rovers boss is working overtime to bolster his squad but any spare moment he gets will be spent watching the World Cup.

Bowyer admits he is unlikely to unearth any rough diamonds in Brazil that he will be able to sign.

But he firmly believes the tournament will offer a great opportunity to pick up ideas he can put into practice when his players return to pre-season training on July 2.

Bowyer said: “I am always striving to improve as a coach and the World Cup will give me a chance to do that.

“There will be different trends and different tactics and it’s up to me to learn from them.

“Even something like a set-play routine – I’ll be watching the games in the hope of adding something to us next season that will make us stronger.”

Bowyer, along with the rest of the nation, will tune into BBC One at 11pm tonight for England’s World Cup opener against Italy.

The clash is set to provide a huge physical and mental test to the Three Lions as it is being staged in the middle of the Amazon rainforest.

But the Ewood boss is confident England’s players will be ready for the intense heat and humidity they will encounter in Manaus – thanks to a key member of his coaching team.

Bowyer’s head of sports science at Rovers, Chris Neville, is on the England backroom staff in Brazil.

And the Rovers chief has no doubt that Neville will have Roy Hodgson’s boys in the best possible shape.

“Chris is very, very knowledgeable and very, very professional,” said Bowyer.

“He will have left no stone unturned in terms of preparations so I’m sure there will be no problems in that sense. From the discussions I’ve had with him it’s clear he’s very excited – and we’re excited for him and delighted he’s going to be part of it.”

Bowyer spent more than 10 years working with young players before he moved into senior management with Rovers.

And he reckons England boss Hodgson – one of his predecessors in the Ewood Park hotseat – will have no hesitation in throwing starlets like Raheem Sterling into his starting line-up in Brazil.

“I think the young players in the squad are ready to start,” said Bowyer, who is hoping Phil Jones, the Manchester United defender he brought through the ranks at Rovers, will get the chance to be involved for the Three Lions.

“I think that’s brilliant and it’s great to see how much talent we have in this country.”