Nigel Pearson is determined to manage the expectations on George Tanner's shoulders and is keen to protect the youngster ahead of his return from injury.
The right-back is back in training as he nears recovery from a hamstring injury picked up in the home defeat to Queens Parks Rangers at the end of December although no timeline has been set for his return to action.
Tanner, 22, showed plenty of promise in his 12 league appearances this season after spending a duration at the start of the campaign with League Two side Carlisle.
The right wing-back has been a problem position throughout the campaign with Pearson utilising six different players out on the flank although none have managed to grab the bull by its horns and maintain the shirt.
Sam Bell, a striker by trade, started in that position in the defeat at Birmingham but endured a horrible afternoon and was later hooked off at half-time with the manager blaming his senior players for leaving him exposed.
With Danny Simpson leaving the club and Zak Vyner falling out of favour, Tanner's impending return is highly-anticipated but the manager doesn't want to put any pressure on his shoulders to help his side's leaky defence.
Speaking in his press conference, he said: "Let's remember that it's his first year at Championship level and he's done OK, at times he's found it difficult - let's not pile pressure around him.
"Actually, he's doing very well for his first season in the Championship. He'll need time to readjust again when he's available so I'd be very mindful of exposing him at the right time and if he was available this week, then I wouldn't pick him.
"It's important to manage expectations on the youngster who has done very well to make the step up. He's looking fitter and leaner than he was and he undoubtedly has a bright future but let's not build the lad up to much.
"We'll see how George develops over the remainder of the season and over the close season period.
"When we brought George in, let's just remind ourselves of why he was brought in at a time where it was a deal which was doable - it wasn't necessarily in our plans to do that but he's available and he's developed really well this season and unfortunately for him, he's picked up a couple of injuries and those are injuries born out of players at full tilt.
"You can't underestimate the added demands on them physically even from the added mental challenges of playing at a higher level. It's a big step up to deal with the expectations of playing at a higher level consistently and that's something that I'm always very mindful. We don't have enough options in those areas but that's life."
While Tomas Kalas remains an injury doubt ahead of the trip to Ewood Park, Pearson hinted that he has considered playing the Czech Republic international at right-back for the first time this season.
Although Pearson hasn't played Kalas away from the centre of defence this season, the 28-year-old is no stranger to playing at right-back having featured there during his spell at Fulham, Middlesbrough and his loan spell with Vitesse.
The manager also hinted it could coincide with a tactical tweak that could see his side try and grind out a scrappy victory to end their run of three games without a win
"Would I play him as a wing-back? Who knows," Pearson added. "You'll have to wait and see whether away from home we set up differently and play five centre-backs and three defensive midfielders, that we don't have.
"I don't think that's going to be a way of us making progressions apart from we might scrap out a couple of ugly results and I'd take those now if they were positive ones but I think that would also limit the possibilities of continuing to develop in areas where we have made huge strides this season."
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