BURNLEY recently welcomed 11 new players into the fold - young teenagers who they hope to develop through the youth system over the next two years. And I cannot stress enough the importance of making sure one of these, at the very least, makes the grade.

Unfortunately the Clarets' record at producing young stars has not been good over the last 20-odd years. The only ones of any real note in that period are Trevor Steven, Mike Phelan, Paul Weller and Richard Chaplow, while Kyle Lafferty and Chris McCann are more than cutting their teeth at senior level right now.

But if you look around the rest of the Championship, the benefits of operating an Academy system are bearing fruit.

From Barnsley to Wolverhampton a host of young, up and coming starlets, have proved at youth and reserve team level that they have enough about them to warrant a professional contract.

It's perhaps no surprise that relegated Premiership sides Sheffield United and Watford have the greatest quantity of Academy graduates on their books.

Some have yet to make their first appearance for their respective sides. For a number of them it will never happen and they will be moved on to pastures new - more often than not lower down the divisions.

Others have been sent out on loan to gain valuable first team experience before returning to their employers and forging their way into the manager's plans - as Lafferty did after his successful spell with Darlington the season before last.

Accrington Stanley can testify to the benefits of teams receiving loans after two Charlton Athletic goalkeepers, Darren Randolph and Rob Elliot, helped them to win promotion to the Football League, while Liverpool defender Godwin Antwi and goalkeeper David Martin helped them to stay up at the end of last season. All of those players have been tipped for bright futures at their clubs.

There are also a handful of youngsters who have been fast-tracked from the youth set-up to the first team because their talent and capabilities have shone at an early age. Gareth Bale is one such example, and he has just netted Southampton a cool £1.5million after signing for Tottenham Hotspur.

Chaplow also earned Burnley that figure in January 2005 when he joined then Premiership outfit West Brom. The Accrington-born midfielder had been on the Clarets' books since he was eight years old, worked his way up to a professional deal and became Burnley's first ever England Under 21 international in February 2004 against Holland.

Perhaps the club's latest graduate, Jay Rodriguez, will follow in his footsteps. But the Clarets' youth conveyor belt needs to produce more and at a more regular rate and make these gems less rare.

For me, one of the most positive things to come of Brendan Flood's involvement with Burnley is not the short-term impact that he will undoubtedly have but his emphasis on developing the youth set-up and building for the future.

l FINGERS crossed that Besart Berisha's work permit hearing gets the thumbs up tomorrow and the Albania international can officially become a Burnley player.

It would be something altogether new for Burnley, and who knows, it could open another door in terms of transfer targets.