BLACKBURN Rovers boss Owen Coyle hailed the signing of Anthony Stokes – and then confirmed the arrival of the ‘proven goalscorer’ will kick start a rush of new additions.

Stokes became the first capture of Coyle’s Rovers reign when he put pen to paper on a three-year contract following his release from Celtic where he won seven major honours and netted 77 goals in 192 games.

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Now the new Ewood Park chief is ready to follow up the signing of the Republic of Ireland international with a string of further recruits before pre-season training starts a week today.

Coyle said: “We’ve obviously not finished there.

“Anthony is the first part of that and we’ll continue to look to improve that department but I think it’s a very good signing for the football club.”

Coyle wants to pair Stokes, who finished last season on loan at Hibs, where he scored twice and starred in their historic Scottish Cup final victory over Rangers, up with Danny Graham.

Graham proved a huge hit with Rovers in the second half of the 2015-16 campaign after joining on loan from Sunderland in January.

The 30-year-old netted seven goals in 18 games to finish as the club’s leading marksman and establish himself as a firm fan favourite.

Graham will be a free agent once his Sunderland contracts expires on June 30 and he has a host of clubs chasing his signature.

But early last week Coyle met the former Watford and Swansea City frontman in an effort to convince him to make a permanent return to East Lancashire.

Talks are understood to have gone well and Graham is said to be weighing up an attractive offer from Rovers.

Coyle is closer to completing the loan signing of an exciting young Premier League attacking midfielder who already has valuable experience under his belt.

Coyle also wants to add pace to the wide areas and it is believed that Liam Feeney, whose Bolton Wanderers contract runs out at the end of the month, has turned down the chance to sign a permanent deal with Ipswich Town in favour of a return to Rovers, where he had a loan spell at the back of the end of the 2013-14 campaign.

Coyle is also reportedly lining up a loan deal for highly rated Scotland Under-21 international left-back Stephen Hendrie, who joined West Ham United last summer after making more than 100 appearances for Hamilton Academical.

Coyle currently has zero left-backs in his squad with the out-of-contract Tommy Spurr, very much like Graham, mulling over the terms that have been put to him.

But for now Coyle is delighted to have got Stokes, a player he believes is coming into his ‘prime’, on board.

He said: “He had a number of suitors and we had to beat off a lot of competition from some big clubs for his signature.

“This is a boy who is a proven goalscorer, he’s had a terrific career at a very high level and we’ve got him at a very good age. At 27, I think he’s coming into his prime.

“He’s coming here hungry and motivated to do well, to continue to his improvement, to score goals and to help Blackburn Rovers be an exciting team.

“Having played in front of 60,000 fans at Celtic, he’s got the mentality to stand up and be counted in big games, as he’s shown over the years, and to get a player of that calibre to the club, we’re absolutely delighted.

“Hopefully it gives all of the Rovers fans a lift and shows that we’re trying to get goalscorers and exciting players to the club that they can enjoy watching.”