OWEN Coyle has vowed to play an attractive brand of attacking football that will excite Blackburn Rovers fans – as he closes in on his first signings.

Rovers supporters were starved of goals last season with only 10 teams scoring fewer times in the entire Football League.

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That has led Coyle to focus the first stage of his summer recruitment drive on bringing in players who can make and take chances.

At least three strikers, a wide player with pace, and an inventive midfielder are all on his shopping list.

And Rovers boss Coyle, a boyhood Celtic fan, said: “I think we’re very close to getting two or three players in the door and giving everybody a boost.

“I want to give the fans a team they can get excited by, that you know, ‘this team can win, but it’s also a team I really like watching’.

“I remember the UEFA Cup game between Blackburn Rovers and Glasgow Celtic and thinking, ‘what an atmosphere’.

“Obviously that was on a huge stage but that doesn’t change the dynamic of how good the fans were and are. This is a proper club and you can sense the history and everything that’s involved with it.

“I always think back to that and that’s why part of the obligation on me is to try and give the fans a team they can be excited by within our budget.

“It’s up to us to utilise what we have to the best of our abilities – and it won’t stop us trying to get some good players into the football club.”

Coyle admits he has had to play catch-up in the transfer market after his appointment at the start of the month.

But while his managerial rivals may have had a head start on targets, he insists Rovers’ stature and fanbase make them the club an attractive proposition.

“The reputation of this club, in terms of the facilities and the supporters, is an attraction for anybody,” said Coyle.

“Blackburn Rovers is a big name in football as far as I’m concerned. The facilities are state of the art, there are good people at the club, working hard, who have been doing it for many years.

“And from a footballing perspective they know they’re coming to a manager who wants to play, who wants to pass and move the ball, and who wants to win and entertain people at the same time.

“The supporters are the one constant at the football club so I feel there is an obligation for me and my staff to send out a team that is representative of those supporters.

“We’re always positive, we’re always upbeat – that’s the way it’s going to be. The Championship is a rollercoaster but it doesn’t change the principle of how we set out.

“Every game we’re going to set out to win – and to do that you need good players and a good team.”

Only 12 teams in the whole of the Football League boasted better defensive records than Rovers last season.

And Coyle, who is set to play with two wingers and two forwards next season, added: “We want to be an exciting, attacking team but not taking away from the strength the club has had because last year the club had a very good defensive record.

“Like anybody we want to score more goals. We need to find a way to marry both together. That’s certainly the aim what we’re trying to do.”