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Jimmy Phillips believes Zach Clough will reap rewards from being the main man at Wanderers next season.
In what has generally been a season of despair for Whites fans, Clough provided them with a rare boost at the weekend by saying he was not angling for a move elsewhere despite the club's relegation to League One.
And Phillips, one of the men who helped him through the academy system from the age of eight, reckons the young striker still has plenty more he can learn at the Macron before considering his next move.
“Of course he has a decision to make,” said the interim boss. “But I always say to young players that you have to be playing on a regular basis.
“Zach has done exactly that this season. He has been the club’s chief attacking threat, and he was again at Cardiff City.
“The important thing is he’s still developing. We are giving him more defensive responsibility which perhaps he didn’t have in his younger years and that will make him a much better, more complete player.
“Where his future lies, who knows? That will be a question for someone else to answer.”
Wanderers plan to make significant cuts to the wage budget to bring it into line with League One regulations and reduce losses which had racked up to £1million a month at one point this season.
That spending is no longer feasible but with several high-earning players still on the books for next year and beyond, the task is by no means a simple one.
Plans are afoot to take up a contract option on Rob Holding, the undoubted find of this season, and Phillips believes the bedrock of younger talent which has come through his academy, plus those added to the squad in recent years such as Max Clayton and Kaiyne Woolery, could allow the next Wanderers manager to focus his transfer budget on key positions in the squad.
“If we can have a good collection of young players around the first-team squad then it means the next manager can spend his money on the match-winning players who are going to make sure you are at the top of the league,” he said.
“That is the basis of any academy and I’m delighted to be in that position now. It looks like that is the plan for the future.”
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In what has generally been a season of despair for Whites fans, Clough provided them with a rare boost at the weekend by saying he was not angling for a move elsewhere despite the club's relegation to League One.
And Phillips, one of the men who helped him through the academy system from the age of eight, reckons the young striker still has plenty more he can learn at the Macron before considering his next move.
“Of course he has a decision to make,” said the interim boss. “But I always say to young players that you have to be playing on a regular basis.
“Zach has done exactly that this season. He has been the club’s chief attacking threat, and he was again at Cardiff City.
“The important thing is he’s still developing. We are giving him more defensive responsibility which perhaps he didn’t have in his younger years and that will make him a much better, more complete player.
“Where his future lies, who knows? That will be a question for someone else to answer.”
Wanderers plan to make significant cuts to the wage budget to bring it into line with League One regulations and reduce losses which had racked up to £1million a month at one point this season.
That spending is no longer feasible but with several high-earning players still on the books for next year and beyond, the task is by no means a simple one.
Plans are afoot to take up a contract option on Rob Holding, the undoubted find of this season, and Phillips believes the bedrock of younger talent which has come through his academy, plus those added to the squad in recent years such as Max Clayton and Kaiyne Woolery, could allow the next Wanderers manager to focus his transfer budget on key positions in the squad.
“If we can have a good collection of young players around the first-team squad then it means the next manager can spend his money on the match-winning players who are going to make sure you are at the top of the league,” he said.
“That is the basis of any academy and I’m delighted to be in that position now. It looks like that is the plan for the future.”
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