Tyrhys Dolan will become one of the club’s youngest ever players to reach 50 first-team appearances – a milestone Tony Mowbray says he is fully deserving of.

Dolan has appeared in every matchday squad since joining on a free transfer from Preston North End last summer, and despite having played only a handful of times infront of supporters, has developed a strong connection with the Rovers fans.

He reached 50 games just a day older than Damien Duff, with Stuart Metcalfe and Peter Dobing among the Rovers players to reached a half century before their 20th birthday.

It is testament to his fitness, but also his consistency, and while Mowbray acknowledges there is areas of his game he will need to improve, the manager says Dolan’s personality is infectious around the club.

“He’s a shining example of how your character and personality, your human values and quality, can connect with the fanbase,” Mowbray said.

“Every football fan wants their team to fight and get stuck in, even Man City who play this amazing brand of positional, in the games when it gets a bit edgy and they’re playing Liverpool, their fans want their team to fight and chase and win every tackle.

“Tyrhys doesn’t need any prompting, right from the first whistle he’s after the ball, he understands, the messages drop in from the first second, I don’t have to remind him of anything, he just does it. That’s why he’s a manager’s dream.

“He has got things he has to develop, he does get his head down at times, he has to get his head up and see the final pass.

“Too many times we’re breaking away and if he just picks his head up we score, yet he dribbles past the last man but then over-runs it.

“Those are things you put up with because of his personality that he brings and the intention he’s got.”

Dolan was handed his chance in pre-season last year following an injury to Sam Gallagher and has never looked back.

He featured in 40 of Rovers’ 48 matches last season, and has been involved in all so far this campaign to put him on the brink of his 50th outing.

“He’s an amazing lad and it’s an honour to be on the training pitch with him and work with him every day,” Mowbray continued.

“His personality, his positivity, his energy, his love for the game, if I leave him out of the side he’s still the bounciest kid out there, he stays out there the longest.

“He deserves to be in every squad for what he brings to the training pitch every day, he almost sets the example of what it should be like to be a young professional striving to be a professional and get your career.”