SCOTT Wharton admitted he achieved a boyhood dream when he made his senior debut for his beloved Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

With Shane Duffy suspended and Elliott Ward injured the 18-year-old of Salesbury was thrust into the starting line-up by Owen Coyle for the 2-2 home draw with Burton Albion.

And centre-back Wharton certainly did not let Rovers boss Coyle down with a highly accomplished display that belied his age and inexperience.

The centre-back made 17 clearances, won six aerial duels and made four interceptions – more than any other player in a blue-and-white halved shirt.

And Blackburn-born Wharton, who used to marvel at Phil Jones and Chris Samba from the stands when he was a season-ticket holder, told Radio Rovers afterwards: “It has been a great day, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

“All the lads have been supporting me, but I’m gutted about the result a bit, I thought we deserved the three points.

“I found out I was playing after training on Friday, the gaffer called me into his office and said he was going to give me my debut.

“I was buzzing, I struggled to get to sleep last night and I was nervous this morning but once I got that first pass out of the way I was all right.

“It was a great feeling making my debut for my home club, it is something that you dream of, playing for your home team is amazing.

“It is all about taking your opportunities at this stage, so hopefully the gaffer was impressed and you can see some more performances from me soon.

“I had a good pre-season with the first team and played quite a few games, so that has been good for me. So I feel as though I am ready and I’m just looking forward to the challenge.

“I used to be a season-ticket holder so I used to watch the likes of Phil Jones and Chris Samba at the back.

“They were probably the players that you look up to at that age and who you want to be when you are older, so hopefully I can go in their direction, but I’ll take it just one step at a time.”

It was also a proud day for the Rovers youth set-up.

Six members of Coyle’s 18-man matchday squad – Wharton, captain Jason Lowe, second-half substitute Darragh Lenihan, and unused substitutes Connor Mahoney, David Raya and Jack Doyle – came through the Academy ranks.

But the inclusion of Wharton, as a Blackburn lad who has been at lower Brockhall for most of his life, will have been particularly pleasing for head of academy Eric Kinder and his team of coaches.

The club’s under-23 captain joined the Rovers ranks when he was 11 years of age and led their under-18 team to the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup last season before breaking into the first-team picture in the summer under Coyle.