STEVE Kean expects Blackburn Rovers’ academy aces to become established Premier League players after admitting their progression has put the club in a unique position.

The Rovers boss has seen six former academy products given Premier League experience this time round and, as Venky’s revolution continues to gather speed, Kean believes the foundations for the future have already been built.

Phil Jones, 19, Martin Olsson, 22, and Junior Hoilett, 20, are already established as key squad members since making their big break through last campaign, with several more coming through this time round.

Fellow academy stars Grant Hanley, 19, Josh Morris, 19 and Jason Lowe, 19, have all also had league appearances under their belts this season and, with the likes of Mauro Formica, Ruben Rochina, Steven Nzonzi and Nikola Kalinic added the growing pool of young talent, Kean is excited about the future.

He said: “We give them a platform to play, a run in the team. We are going to have a vein that runs right through the club where academy players will be promoted into the first team, they are going to get their chance, they will mix in with the quality senior players we have got.

“I am very excited about the group of players we have got coming through here. I have had the benefit of working for academies in the past and having a lot of really good players coming through.

“But they normally come through at different times whereas here at the moment they seem to be coming through together and are staking genuine attempts to be nailed on shirt holders.

“It is different when you have lads playing a couple of games and then they are out. But all these lads coming through have shown their ability and can be established Premier League players for years to come.

“It is very pleasing to see them make the transition. We have a very good academy here and we would like to think of ourselves as a development club.

“But when it comes to the Barclays Premier League, it is a tough league a vicious league and the lads have to be really ready so they can go in and do themselves justice.”

Kean admits his first experience of a transfer window as a manager was a difficult experience, with bids for a number of targets being rejected as clubs asked for inflated price tags.

He did manage to add Roque Santa Cruz and Jermaine Jones on loan as well as purchasing Formica and Rochina, but insists it was keeping his current stars that proved just as important.

“It all bodes well for us as club,” said Kean. “It was a very tough transfer window. We opened negotiations with Phil Jones before the window opened and we have managed to sign a number of players on long term contracts.

“We have a really strong foundation, a strong platform with a mixture of young and senior players and that will kick us on for the rest of this season and give us a good foundation for next season as well.

“When you first get a job and there are a number of players out of contract and then enquiries for players from other clubs. To manage to get them on contracts shows they are enjoying their work and working together and is fantastic news for myself.

“We are always looking to add quality but the thing I wanted to stress was the players we had here were the ones we really wanted to keep, even before we were mentioning bringing in loan players like Roque and Jermaine or even the younger lads.

“It was making sure the lads we wanted to keep here for a long term were sorted out. We look forward to the years ahead.”