Blackburn Rovers have the most exciting crop of young goalkeepers in the country!

That's the view of former Ewood favourite Vince O'Keefe and England goalkeeping coach Martin Thomas.

And it's difficult to disagree when you look at the stable of young international keepers currently on the books of the Academy at Brockhall.

Kieron Renton, Dave Stevenson, Steve Drench and Joe Anyon are already established internationals at various age groups.

And Academy goalkeeping coach O'Keefe believes he has two more young proteges who are destined for top international honours over the next few years in the shape of Zak Jones and Francis Fielding.

So the future of Blackburn Rovers really could not be in safer hands.

"I think we've surpassed everything Bobby Downes and Rob Kelly ever thought was possible on the goalkeeping front over the last couple of years," said O'Keefe.

"All the pieces of the jigsaw have come together and I've been able to attract some top class lads to the club.

"One or two of them were already here before I arrived but I've managed to nurture them along and we now have a stable of top international goalkeepers at the Academy to rival anything in the country.

"I know Martin Thomas, the England goalkeeping coach, considers us to have the best crop of young lads in the country.

"And that can only be healthy for the future of the club.

"Kieron Renton is the current Scottish Under 18 keeper and Dave Stevenson keeps for England U18s.

"Then there's Steve Drench, a 16-year-old lad who plays for England U17s.

"And Joe Anyon became the youngest player ever to play for England U16s when he made his debut at 14.

"Below that, we also have Francis Fielding who's another lad with a bright future.

"And there's a 13-year-old called Zak Jones who I would rate as probably the best keeper for his age group in the country. So, as you can see, we've got some exceptional young players and it's going to be very interesting to see who comes through and makes it over the next couple of years."

Much of the credit for that success story must go to O'Keefe himself.

The 44-year-old is an expert in his field after becoming one of only a handful of part-time coaches in the country to hold a UEFA A licence for both outfield and goalkeeping coaching.

So when Bobby Downes invited him to share that knowledge with Rovers' Academy starlets he was only too pleased to help out.

"I'm delighted Bobby had the foresight to invite me on board," said O'Keefe.

"I was working for the PFA as an agent at the time, looking after players like Chris Sutton, Nicky Barmby, Colin Hendry and Trevor Sinclair and I was hardly going home because of all the travelling involved.

"So to suddenly get invited to come and do some work at the Academy was the missing link in my life and I love it to bits."

Now O'Keefe splits his time between acting as an adviser for top financial brokers Kingsbridge and working as a part-time coach to the Academy keepers.

So during the day, he advises top Premiership stars like Brad Friedel, Chris Kirkland and Dean Kiely about financial matters and by night he dons his coaching hat to groom the stars of tomorrow.

It's a demanding dual life but the rewards are there for everyone to see.

"I really enjoy what I do because it means I get the best of both worlds," said O'Keefe.

"When I quit the game as a player 10 years ago, the opportunity to go into goalkeeping coaching didn't really exist at that time.

"But it's what I'm cut out to do and I really get a buzz out of it now.

"I think a lot of that is down to the atmosphere Bobby Downes and Rob Kelly have created at the Academy.

"Everything's run so professionally and you only have to look at their record over the last couple of years to see that they are at the top of the tree.

"And that gave me the confidence to get involved myself."