NOW I'M MAKING MY MARK

How Kane inspired Rovers ace Dilan

- Dave Flett

DILAN Markanday has admitted he has taken inspiration from England captain Harry Kane after enduring a difficult loan spell at Aberdeen last season.

The Blackburn Rovers winger headed north of the border in January hoping to prove his first-team credentials having been ruled out for four months of 2022 after tearing a hamstring on his debut for the Lancashire outfit following a £500,000 move from Tottenham.

But Markanday was handed only 50 minutes of game time spread over four months and three cameo substitute appearances for the Dons before reporting back to Ewood Park for pre-season.

Perhaps surprisingly, the Barnet-born attacker was then handed a first-ever EFL start in Rovers’ opening game of the campaign but justified manager Jon Dahl Tomasson’s decision by netting in a 2-1 triumph over West Brom.

He was also on target as Rovers romped to an 8-0 Carabao Cup victory at Harrogate on Wednesday night and, despite confessing that many might have “written off” his chances of making an impact at his parent club following his struggles in Scotland, Markanday points out that the example of a man he used to share a training ground with always gave him hope.