Tony Mowbray says he has seen enough of John Buckley to appreciate his talent - rather than judging him solely on his 22 minute cameo at Sheffield Wednesday.

The teenager, who has trained regularly with the first team squad of late, made his senior bow off the bench when replacing Corry Evans.

It was the first time Buckley had been named in a matchday squad despite the central midfielder having played 80 minutes for the Under-23s in their win at Stoke City on Friday night.

Buckley is one of a number of exciting prospects within Damien Johnson’s group who Mowbray has high hopes for.

And having signed a new long-term deal earlier this year, Mowbray said of Buckley, who has been with the club since the age of eight: “He doesn’t need to impress me on the pitch, I know what he does, I know his talent.

“I know what he can do.

“He’s going to be a good footballer for our club. He plays forward and how I want the team to play.

“I was happy to give him his debut. It was disappointing with the result on his debut but he will have been delighted to get on the pitch.

“I know he has a big future.”

Rovers slipped to a seventh defeat in their last nine matches, shipping four more goals on the way to a 4-2 defeat against the Owls.

Mowbray’s side have dropped to 17th in the table heading in to the international break, with Rovers not in action until March 30 at Aston Villa.

The boss has stressed he feels performances haven’t dropped off, despite the slump in form, but admits the defending has continued to hold them back.

But seeing no shortage of effort from his side, Mowbray added: “I think the team’s performance level has been pretty consistent all year. I think people who look at results, it’s easy to say that it’s been terrible but I know for a fact that it hasn’t been terrible.

“The results have been terrible but I wouldn’t say there has been a drop off.

“(Darragh) Lenihan missing has caused problems in an area where we need his power and ability to deal with the first ball.

“Without him we haven’t had the ability to do that.

“I think the team’s performance level has been consistent, they work really hard for each other, and yet we’re struggling in one area of the pitch.”