Former Blackburn Rovers fullback Michael Gray says fans should be impressed by the work of Steve Kean.
Gray has hailed the way Kean has managed to drag Rovers out of the dropzone.
He told the Lancashire Telegraph: "It is always a great thing at a football club if you can successfully blend kids into your side. Blackburn have done that well this season and that is hopefully encouraging for the future.
"You even go back to Phil Jones, who they developed before selling on, and it shows how the football club is prepared to give youngsters a chance. Perhaps players get an opportunity at Rovers who might not elsewhere.
"He has got rid of a lot of experienced players and eyebrows were raised but the team has continued to pick up points and I'm sure they have enough to get enough points to stay in the league.
"I look at James McLean at Sunderland and they snapped him up for £300,000 and gave him his chance in the Premier League. That just shows sometimes players just need an opportunity, which maybe a lot of Premier League sides are not ready to provide.
"It gives you a great base at the club and it is similar to Blackburn Rovers being ready to throw their kids in at a young age. You are saving X millions of pounds for the football cub and that is vital in going forward.
"You know that Blackburn Rovers will give you an opportunity and that if you are good enough, you are old enough." "They have some very talented players like Junior Hoilett, who has fantastic ability, and they have a few others who have progressed well.
