Hunter became the Saints academy manager in November 2006

Ex-Northampton Saints academy boss Rob Hunter says they have enough quality to reach the Premiership finals.

Hunter was responsible for overseeing the rise of players like Courtney Lawes from club to international level.

"Saints can easily be top four. There's a massive difference in the quality of players to a few years ago," he told BBC Radio Northampton.

"They've certainly got the ability and resources. There's been a number of players coming through the academy."

Lawes won his first international cap in the autumn, having impressed for Saints in Premiership and European matches.

With James Cannon, James Ingle and Jamie Elliot, their talent should stand out Rob Hunter

And Hunter has been impressed with the 20-year-old's success so far.

"Courtney has had a meteoric rise, and he's an example of a good management programme from all his coaches," Hunter added.

"The very first time you saw him, he was very impressive physically but he had soft hands.

"We watched him three times in ten days and those are treasured memories."

Hunter is also confident that other academy players will break through into the Saints first team.

"It's more difficult to get through, due to the quality of the first team," he added. "With James Cannon, James Ingle and Jamie Elliot, their talent should stand out."

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