TWO professional footballers scored a big hit with youngsters when they visited a primary school.

Blackburn Rovers striker Marcus Antonsson and defender Derrick Williams wowed pupils at St Aidan’s in Norfolk Street in the Mill Hill district of the town.

Their visit, which featured a question and answer session and games, was part of the Premier League Primary Stars programme.

Isis Tomlinson, 11, of Mill Hill, and Tom Hodgson, 10, of Barrowford, were among the pupils who enjoyed the visit.

Isis said: “It was really good that the players get to come into school.”

Tom said: “It was really exciting to see them. I did not think they were actually going to come.”

Nick Jackson-Cooney, Rovers’ senior sport and education development officer, is part of an eight-strong team that delivers community work.

He said 15 to 20 such visits, each featuring two players, take place every season in the Blackburn with Darwen, Ribble Valley, Hyndburn and South Ribble areas.

He added: “We use our part of the funding to get into primary schools. We cover quite a big area and deliver sport and PT.”

The scheme also involves mentoring and education for teachers.

Mr Jackson-Cooney said manager Tony Mowbray attached great importance to the scheme, adding: “He has really taken it on board and has really bought into it.”

Rachel Senior, the school’s headteacher, said the school has very strong links with the club and added: “Today it’s about raising aspirations for our pupils.”

The session at the school revealed that a good number of the pupils are supporters of Blackburn Rovers, with sizeable numbers showing an allegiance for Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City.

Antonsson, a Swede who is on-loan from Leeds United, said he was on his second such visit and added: “It’s nice to see children who will one day appreciate what you do.”

Asked by a pupil which team in England he would choose to play for, among several tricky questions posed by the youngsters, he plumped for Manchester City.