ERIC Kinder has clocked up more than half a century of service to Blackburn Rovers.

It was an affection that started on the terraces 51 years ago, and has continued in his working life as he helps to shape the club’s future.

Rovers’ Academy is facing the increasing challenges of the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) and coming up against the strength of the multi-million pound sides they face week in, week out.

But they continue to more than hold their own, with yet another successful season of progression at Brockhall, with Rovers remaining committed to their Category One status despite relegation to League One.

The fruits of the Academy in 2016/17 saw three players - Ryan Nyambe, Scott Wharton and Willem Tomlinson - make their first team debuts.

The Under-18s once again reached the Elite play-offs, with only Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool finishing above them in the regular season, while the Under-23s narrowly missed out on a play-off spot.

And Kinder was pleased to see the route from Rovers Academy to first-team continue.

“Our main selling point is the pathway to the first team,” he told the Lancashire Telegraph. “Luckily we have another manager (in Tony Mowbray) who likes youth football and young players.

“I have been lucky with the managers that I have worked with, they have been really interested in youth.

“For Ryan to make 25 appearances is fantastic. (Darragh) Lenihan has come on leaps and bounds. He started last year but really cemented his place and has become a real focal point of the side now.

“Willem has been on the bench, a great opportunity coming on against Manchester United, what an experience that must have been for him, especially when he put Zlatan on his backside. What a way to make his debut.

“Lewis Travis has been on the bench a couple of times, and we have really high hopes for Scott Wharton.”

But the Rovers Academy is about much more than seeing which prospects make it in to the first-team squad on a Saturday.

For Kinder, the key lies in what happens on weekend mornings when the Brockhall pitches are flooded with fledgling players of the future.

“The strength of your Academy is judged, for me, on the strength of your Under-18s on a Saturday morning,” he added.

“Those mornings are the future – you don’t worry about the scores, you are judging who will make that next step up.

“For two years running at Under-18 level we have finished in the top four of all Category One clubs and we have been in the Elite league for two seasons in a row.

“On the pitch we’re competing in what is the most difficult league in youth football.

“For me that’s how your Academy is judged - not about how many buildings and changing rooms you have, or how good your indoor centre is.”

There has been plenty of success for the Under-18s this term but it wasn’t quite replicated at Under-23 level.

Damien Johnson’s side endured a mixed start to their season, but improved in 2017 as they reached the last 16 of the Premier League 2 Cup.

They narrowly missed out on qualification for the end of season play-offs, before losing in the Lancashire Senior Cup semi-final on penalties to Fleetwood Town.

That was a particular disappointment for both Johnson and Kinder – who assisted the Under-23s in the final months of last season following the promotion of David Dunn to first-team coach.

The Under-23s also entered the re-branded Checkatrade Trophy, and cup introducing a round-robin format, the 2016-17 campaign saw them play more competitive games than ever before.

“It was a fantastic fixture list for the Under-23s,” Kinder said.

“The Premier League Cup going in to a group format, the Lancashire Senior Cup, the Checkatrade Trophy, it gave the Under-23s a really strong fixture programme which was miles better than the year before when you were only playing twice a month and then behind closed doors games.”

The Under-23s saw their squad strengthened by a quintet of Under-18 players making the step up and playing major roles in the second half of the season with the five all being offered professional deals.

That led to Billy Barr having to go with a very young squad in the end of season play-offs which pitted Rovers against Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool, and the top teams from the southern section, Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham and Reading.

They won two of their seven games, including an impressive 4-2 success at United in their final outing.

“It became a young side,” Kinder said. “What we usually try and do is bed the first year scholars in during their first year, unless they are really exceptional, and most of the second years are involved with the Under-23s.

“It became a case that the first years had to grow up really quickly and I have been really surprised by how well they have handled Under-18s football.

“That’s credit to Billy Barr and Ian Jones, the way that they work with them and the way they school them.

“You look at the team that went to United for the last game of the Elite group, we had five Under-16s playing and we gave a debut to an Under-15. We played away and won 4-2 and that was really satisfying given they had seven second years playing.”

Kinder spent seven years as a coach in the Academy between 1999 and 2006 before leaving for a position with Carlisle United. He was brought back to Rovers by Gary Bowyer in 2013 as Under-23s boss, before being appointed as Head of Academy two years later.

He described that appointment as the proudest day of his life, and added: “This season was 51 years since I first came to Ewood Park as a supporter.

“I wasn’t good enough to play for them, but I’m very lucky that in my working life I’ve been able to work for them, which for me has been a dream come true.”