Harry Chapman remains a name on many supporters’ lips, even though he’s yet to start a match since sealing a January return.

A favourite with the fans, Chapman has spent much of this season building his fitness with the Under-23s where he has scored four times in seven matches.

Tony Mowbray, in conjunction with the winger who turned 22 this week, decided against taking up the option of loan interest in August, with the boss challenging the former England youth international to show more hunger to win a place in his matchday squad.

And Mowbray says he’s seeing positive signs from Chapman who is one of a clutch of young attackers at the club on the fringes of the first-team.

He has still only made four senior starts in his career, his loan spell at Rovers in 2017/18 cruelly ended by two devastating hamstring injuries, and Mowbray believes consistency in his approach every day is key to Chapman breaking back in to the side.

“I think he’s maturing as a lad and understanding how important football is, not something he can just turn up, do a few dribbles and try and score a few goals and that’s enough,” he explained.

“I really like Harry Chapman, that’s why he’s here.

“But as I’ve said in the past, the seriousness of football he just has to grasp.

“He’s a potential game-changer for us and Harry knows I just need to see some consistency from him in training every day where he works hard, does what he’s good at and then he won’t be far away and before long he will hopefully be on the bench and if he needs to come on and change a game then he has the ability to do that.

“I don’t feel it’s been an issue for me. I brought him with every intention, he’s had a few injury issues, last week he got concussed, and it seems to be one thing after another.

“He’s looking good in training, he’s scored a few goals for the Under-23s in recent weeks and sure he’ll become an option soon.”

Mowbray had hinted at the possibility of loaning Chapman out in the wake of him signing for Rovers in the January window.

Instead, Rovers opted to keep him around the club to build up his fitness, with Chapman ending the season with substitute appearances in Rovers’ final two matches of last season.

So far this he made a cameo off the bench in the Carabao Cup win over Oldham and was an unused substitute in the second round defeat at Sheffield United.

However, Mowbray doesn’t see the need to rush Chapman, nor to discuss the possibility of a January move just yet.

Instead, the manager, a regular at the Under-23s matches, wants Chapman to focus on trying to break in to his Championship matchday squad for the first time this season.

“I don’t think we need to get in to that at the moment,” he said of the possibility of  a loan move.

“Let’s see if he can affect the team in the next seven or eight weeks.

“Then I can have that discussion with Harry, his advisors, and what we feel is best for him.

“Hopefully he gets himself to the forefront of my mind and starts to affect the team off the bench and if he can do that consistently then he has to try and get himself in the starting line-up.

“Then someone else will have the issue of not playing.

“As I’ve said to them all, it’s up to them, they have to produce on the grass, not just on a matchday but day in day out on the training field.”