Jon Dahl Tomasson is excited by his young Rovers squad – but admits it is only natural they will make mistakes along the way.

The average of Tomasson’s squad has dropped even further since last season following the departures of Daniel Ayala and Thomas Kaminski among others.

Ryan Hedges is now the most senior member of the group at 28, while the likes of Harry Leonard and Dilan Markanday have been given opportunities to shine in recent weeks alongside more established youngsters such as Adam Wharton and Hayden Carter.

Of the four new signings to arrive at Ewood Park so far this summer, Sondre Tronstad is the only player over the age of 24.

Despite the squad’s lack of experience, Tomasson is eager to keep progressing and says the players share his ambition.

“We have an even younger squad this season compared to last. In that way, we need to develop,” he told The Lancashire Telegraph.

“Our CEO (Steve Waggott) said a while ago that the expectation this season, first and foremost, is to stay in the league and develop players.

“I understand Steve is realistic because the goal posts have been moved, but I am very ambitious and I want to win games as well. I know my lads are extremely ambitious and so are the fans.

“We have very good players, but young players will make a couple of more mistakes than mature players who have played in the Premier League.

“That is normal and we shouldn’t complain about that, it is part of their development.”

There has been some debate among supporters about how to get the best out of Wharton, with the young midfielder being used in a deeper role alongside Lewis Travis since the start of the campaign.

The Academy graduate has already proven that he can make an impact in the final third when given the freedom to push higher up the pitch.

However, his technical ability means he can also be effective when receiving the ball in deeper areas and helping build attacks.

Tomasson hailed Wharton’s willingness to take risks and try to create chances for his team-mates without being fearful of losing possession.

“I think he can play both roles,” the manager added. “Of course, his main quality is on the ball which is an extremely high level.

“We saw that with the short corner (against Rotherham) where he passed it into Sammie Szmodics. 

“He had a couple of really good balls played ‘into the kitchen’ where it is warm, and those are the most difficult balls to play in football.

“If you play it around and around the whole time, you create a boring game. It is okay to miss passes and make mistakes, we just need to win it back again.”