BLACKBURN Rovers boss Owen Coyle believes the future is bright for Rovers as he gets set to include academy graduate Ryan Nyambe in his squad for today’s visit of Brentford.

Nyambe has previous first team experience having made two League Cup appearances but the right back has yet to feature in the Championship.

But with Rovers short of defensive options the defender is set to be named on the bench for the visit of the Bees.

And Coyle believes there will be plenty more Brockhall graduates following the 18-year-old into the first team over the course of the next few weeks and months.

The Ewood boss highlighted 18-year old midfield duo Willem Tomlinson and Lewis Hardcastle, attacking midfielder Joe Rankin-Costello, 17, and defender Lewis Travis, 19, as youngsters to keep an eye on.

Coyle said of the crop of youngsters, many of who have featured in the Checkatrade Trophy this season: “They are coming on leaps and bounds. We have got a few that have got a real chance.

“I am always loathed to single out individuals but Ryan Nyambe is one who has improved no end and he is one who will have a very good career in the game.

“He has trained with us in the last couple of weeks which goes hand in hand with how well he is doing so we bring them into the first team environment.

“He is one I have been delighted with amongst others. Willem is a midfielder who has got a great opportunity. Hardcastle has been in there doing very well, Travis played very well the other night (in the Lancashire Senior Cup win over Oldham Athletic) and we have young Costello at 17 years of age who is doing very well.

“One or two of those boys will be in the squad for Saturday.”

And Coyle believes the much maligned Checkatrade Trophy has helped improve the Rovers youngsters.

Rovers bowed out of that competition at the group stage earlier this month having failed to win a match, but Coyle believes the experience his youngsters gained will serve them well in the future.

“From our perspective our young players got valuable match experience against league footballers,” said Coyle, who is in regular contact with Development Squad bosses Damien Johnson and David Dunn about the prospects coming through at Ewood.

“We have a number of young players who I think will have very good careers in the game and I think they learned a lot from playing against Oldham and Carlisle and Fleetwood.

“Carlisle were unbeaten so they were playing against confident league players,

“We had 17,18,19-year-olds playing in those games and I think it served them really well. There was a huge l curve for a lot

“I think there is one or two knocking on the first team squad in terms of training with us and trying to push themselves into first team situations.

“We have certainly benefitted from it and I think the individual players have.”