THE conveyor belt of talent from Barnsley's academy ranks to the first-team squad is starting to roll along apace once again.

For Conor Hourihane, it was something that was high on his considerable 'to-do list' when he was handed the Oakwell post on a permanent basis in April.

After publicly making that vow, Hourihane is seeing some early fruit.

It has been headlined by the first-team emergence of Jono Bland, while fellow Wales under-21 call-up Vimal Voganathan - still a teenager like his good friend - is also stepping up to the plate on the back of a fine loan stint at Oldham Athletic.

Barnsley's Vimal Yoganathan in action during the Carabao Cup third-round match against Manchester United at Old Trafford last September. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

placeholder image — Barnsley's Vimal Yoganathan in action during the Carabao Cup third-round match against Manchester United at Old Trafford last September. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Others have been blooded, with goalkeeper Kieren Flavell also getting his chance towards the end of last term. Youngsters Robson Woodcock and Leo Farrell have also been handed debuts from the bench in the EFL Cup this season.

There are more waiting in the wings and the Reds' forthcoming EFL Trophy campaign might be useful in that regard.

On the importance of youth, Hourihane, someone who has a keen awareness of Reds' history in that regard, said: "We are fortunate with some of the young players we have in the building. There’s another couple coming through as well. Faz (Farrell) has come on and there’s Kieran Graham and these (other) guys.

"It’s about trying to mould and bring that connection together between first team and academy.

Barnsley teenage midfielder Jonathan Bland, pictured in action late last season. Image: Tony Johnson.

"It’s something which is really really important to me. We’ve had a history of doing it over the years and need to get back to that.

"It’s been an extra bit of my job and role in picturing the club going in the right direction with the connection with the academy."

With Barnsley's budget not being in the top echelons of League One clubs these days, nurturing homegrown talent takes on added importance.

Hourihane continued: "There’s teams with bigger budgets than us, but we need to bridge the gap in a different way in terms of the work we do each day and standards we set and culture we are trying to install.

"That doesn’t come down to budget, but hard work and good people around the club. That’s pretty priceless and something we are trying to create and bridge that gap."