ANOTHER season of academy football at Blackburn Rovers comes to an end today when the club’s U18s round off their impressive end to the campaign at home to Stoke City.

Brian Carey’s side go into the game with the Potters looking to extend their unbeaten U18s Premier League  run to eight matches.

But what will please the coaching staff at Brockhall more is the number of players from the team who have already made the step to U21s level and, in the case of Ryan Nyambe (pictured below), to the fringes of the first team.

Lewis Hardcastle, a 16-year-old midfielder, captained Rovers U21s in their final game of the season on Thursday against Bolton Wanderers. There were also full debuts for goalkeeper Andrew Fisher, defenders Scott Wharton and Lewis Travis, and midfielder Willem Tomlinson.

In fact every member of the side that started against Bolton, with the exception of returning first-team captain Grant Hanley, was still eligible to play for the U18s.

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Not that the current academy crop can rest on the progress they have made, not when the fresh intake of first-year scholars are ready to arrive at Brockhall, an intake which includes the sons of former Rovers duo Colin Hendry and Simon Grayson.

And departing Rovers star David Dunn has offered his advice to the young players attempting to follow in his footsteps.

The 35-year-old, one of the best players to emerge from the Rovers Academy, said: “Hopefully the academy can produce even more players.

“I get down there and watch a lot of games and certainly my time at the Academy was so enjoyable with the group of players we had and the work ethic that we showed.

“I think at times the young players now, not that they think they’ve made it already, they kind of want to be footballers for the wrong reasons.

“You hear the word ‘busy’ mentioned so much now and it’s like it’s an embarrassment to be busy.

“I think the best thing a young player can be is to be busy. Be enthusiastic, be passionate. If you stand out because you’re over-enthusiastic and over-passionate for the cause, be it, because you’ll stand a far better chance than the guy standing next to you.

“And that’s the message I’d send out to the academy boys – be busy, be enthusiastic, because if you want to be a footballer – and you’re here for a reason, if you get a scholarship somebody sees something in you – be that one.”

Dunn made his 378th and final appearance for Rovers in their 3-2 Championship victory over Ipswich Town last Saturday.

The former England international, who first joined the club at the age of eight, spent most of his final three months at Ewood Park nursing a calf injury.

It was during that time that he got to know Nyambe, the 17-year-old defender who made it on to the bench against Ipswich, having previously been an unused substitute against Liverpool in the FA Cup.

Midfielder John O’Sullivan, 21, the versatile Darragh Lenihan, 21, and goalkeeper David Raya, 19, all made their full first-team debuts before the 2014-15 campaign was out.

And Dunn believes Nyambe could be the next starlet to make the grade.

“It’s been great to see the lads breaking through this season and the next one, for me, is young Ryan Nyambe,” said Dunn.

“I see something in him. When I was injured for a while, a few weeks back, he was with me and I saw something .

“I don’t see that much in many young players anymore. When anyone told him to do something he did it, he didn’t need telling twice.

“He was very proactive in all his rehab and it really did stand out. If he carries on with that he’ll stand a very good chance.”

The U18s’ clash with Stoke kicks off at 11am at Brockhall. All supporters are welcome.