OWEN Coyle says investing in young talent is the way forward for Blackburn Rovers if they want to move up the Championship table.

The manager was speaking about the possibility of making young striker Sam Gallagher’s season-long loan deal from Southampton a permanent one.

After admitting he would love to have the 21-year-old, as well as Watford defender Tommie Hoban, at Ewood Park for the long term, he laid out his vision for what he believes could take Rovers to the ‘next rung of the ladder’.

And he says that involves spending money on attracting young players to the club who will benefit the team as well as being valuable assets.

Coyle, who takes his side to Bristol City tomorrow (3pm), said: “We want to get this club back to where we want it to be and there’s two ways of doing it. One is that you go with huge spending power, which a lot of clubs have done and not been successful in doing it.

“The second way is that you actually have a plan in place that you know can be successful.

“We’ve done it before and shown that you don’t need huge amounts of money but at the right time, and this is important, you need the right level of investment to take you on to the next rung of the ladder.”

Coyle brought in 12 players during the summer - five on free transfers and six on loan, as well as the £250,000 fee paid to Bristol City for full-back Derrick Williams.

At the same time the club pocketed a combined £10million from the sales of defenders Grant Hanley and Shane Duffy to Newcastle and Brighton respectively.

Gallagher and fellow loanee Marvin Emnes have struck up a promising attacking partnership, while Hoban has been ever-present in the league since his arrival from Vicarage Road.

Coyle insists they are the type of players he wants to target.

“I would love to sign Sam,” he said. “Tommie Hoban’s another one.

“Moving forward, the plan would be that we get stability and have that platform to spring forward.

“Once we’re able to do that it’s the likes of the Sam Gallaghers and Tommie Hobans that, as a manager, you’d be looking to invest in - young players that can grow and get better.

“There will always be good Bosmans out there, but the salaries for those sometimes come at a premium.

“But if there are young players you can source and bring to your club, that would be the way forward.

“Sam and Tommie are good players and have been performing consistently, but there are others out there you can bring to your club.

“That helps the team because they are playing very well, and adds tremendous assets to your club.

“But, at the right time, there has got to be that level of investment.

“For this club to progress, in my eyes, that’s the way it’s got to be.”

He added: “We’ve tried to bring a consistency to our play and hopefully, if we can do that, we’ll move up the league.

“When we do that, that’s then when you need that level of investment. It’s got to be the right time because that’s when you move things forward.

“If you’re just doing the same thing then that will keep you at a certain level.

“But I know from the first day getting involved in football, you want to win games, you want to be successful - that’s what drives you on.

“There’s a way to do that and at the right time there has to be the right level of investment.”