There was double delight for Jordan Rhodes as he hit a treble against former club Huddersfield Town while wearing the captain’s armband.
The 24-year-old took on Blackburn team-leading duties after Grant Hanley was ruled out by injury, and smiled: “It made my hat-trick even more special.
“It was a great honour to skipper the side, and great to walk out alongside Peter Clarke, who was my captain when I was at Town.
“I had three great years here and it’s a club I hold in high regard.
“My family still live in the area, my sister goes to Kirklees College, and when I am back visiting, people are great with me, coming up and asking how things are going.”
Rhodes, whose August 2012 switch to Rovers brought Town a club-record £8m fee, now has 20 goals for the season and 48 in all for the Lancashire club.
It was a slick way to end a spell of just one goal in 11 games, but the former Ipswich youngster who notched 87 times for Town insisted: “I don’t let those things get to me.
“I train the same way and approach games the same way, and do all I can to remain positive.”
The victory also snapped a sequence of three straight defeats for Blackburn, who are now 10th to Town’s 15th.
And Rhodes, who remains unable to get back into the Scotland side under Gordon Strachan, reckons they could yet make the play-offs (Rovers are eight points behind sixth-placed Nottingham Forest with a game in hand on them).
“It’s never nice to lose games, but we have been playing okay,” he added.
“We need to try to kick on now, take it one game at a time and hopefully come the end of the season, we will be in that top six.”
Rhodes also praised Craig Conway, the winger signed from Cardiff in January who made his second goal and scored Blackburn’s other.
“He’s one of a number of good players at the club,” said the frontman.
“When he sets off down that wing, there’s only one thought in his head, to cross the ball, and as a striker, you try to get in the right positions to make the most of them.”
Rovers boss Gary Bowyer said of Rhodes: “It was an outstanding display of finishing and he has been doing it for a number of years now.”
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