Jacob Davenport believes he’s been ready for his first-team opportunity for 18 months but hopes now is his time to flourish in the Rovers midfield.

Davenport endured a tough first year at the club, not making his debut until the final match of the 2018/19 campaign, with his first start not arriving until the win at Birmingham City on January 2.

Inbetween came 16 more substitute appearances, including an equalising goal at Brentford last month, and also plenty of outings for the Under-23s. So too came conversations with Tony Mowbray about his game-time, prospects of going out on loan, but the 22-year-old has always maintained belief that he can both warrant and hold down a place in the middle of midfield.

“I’ve had quite a few conversations with the gaffer over the last year, or year and a half, that I’ve been ready. I kept going in and saying that I was ready and I’ve just waited my opportunity and thankfully it came,” Davenport said.

“I think that was an option at one point when I wasn’t getting minutes here. I wanted to play games and if it was a loan then I’d do that.

“Thankfully that didn’t happen.

“I kept saying to the gaffer I felt I was good enough to get in this team and I didn’t want to go out on loan, I wanted to play for Blackburn, so hopefully I can continue to do that.

“You have to always believe in yourself and I always have. Coming back from injuries you don’t have that sharpness which you know you can have when you’re fully fit.

“I’ve just tried to show what I can do for the team.”

Davenport has worked to win the trust of manager Mowbray who has felt the midfielder has needed time to adapt to the rigours of first-team football.

He has become more robust during his work with the medical team after two long-term injuries in his first season at the club followed by another in the summer of 2019 in a behind closed doors pre-season match.

However, since returning for the Under-23s in September of that year, he’s felt ready to push for a first-team spot, having to bide his time with his next first-team outing not coming until the 5-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday in January.

Since then he’s been a regular in the squad, featuring in eight of the nine Project Restart fixtures and seven of Rovers’ last 13 matches.

He added: “It’s been better than the last two so far with injuries and getting appearances off the bench has been good.

“But what I’ve been wanting is to get a place in the starting XI, I’ve had a chance to start, felt I did well, took my chance and now I’m just trying to make more starts.

“It (the treatment room) isn’t a place where you want to be as a player so it’s been nice to stay out of it.”

There has been the thought that Davenport would be better suited as part of a central midfield two, which they played at Birmingham as he partnered Lewis Travis, rather than the three that they have operated with for much of the season.

But Davenport said: “Growing up I’ve always played as a three, as the No.6, the holding midfielder, but my first start with Trav was just the two of us in midfield.

“I don’t really mind if it’s a two or three, I can play anywhere.”

Davenport could count himself unfortunate not to start the Doncaster cup tie on the back of his display at Birmingham, with Tom Trybull and Stewart Downing getting the nod alongside Travis.

The former Manchester City man was pleased with his display at St Andrew's, but feels there's still more he can give.

“It was a good game, we kept a clean sheet, won the game, so it was nice to get three points in my first start,” he explained.

“You know yourself if you’ve played well, I felt that I could have done even better, but match sharpness only comes through minutes and hopefully I can keep improving.”