HERE'S a fact to make you shudder. It's 20 years since Jim Smith upped sticks and left Ewood Park.

Here's one to make you ponder. His first game in management was for Boston, against - Great Harwood.

And, while we continue to try to surprise even the most knowledgeable Rovers fans among you, who do you reckon jovial Jim rates as his best-ever signing?

David Wagstaffe.

No wonder soccer's famous Bald Eagle will always retain a special place in the East Lancashire football nest.

Tomorrow he'll re-visit a few memories when he pitches his highly-rated Derby side into battle with Rovers, the yes of the nation looking on.

He still regards his three-season stint at Ewood as the true launch of his managerial career, although, to be fair, he had tasted success at both Boston and Colchester before moving up to Lancashire.

"That's right, but Blackburn was the big job, it put me up there and gave me the opportunity to build a base for my career.

"I remember saying at the Press Conference that the cobbled streets of Blackburn were a far cry from the leafy lanes of Colchester and it soon became clear to me just how much potential Rovers had, even in those days. What's happened over recent years has delighted me, but it hasn't surprised me at all.

"Going even further back I certainly remember that first game against Great Harwood at Boston. They had the likes of Ronnie Clayton, Bryan Douglas and Roy Vernon in their side and I though, hey, hang on a minute, ain't this supposed to be non-league!"

The outcome? Boston won 4-0. "Great start, thought there must be nothing to this management game - proved wrong since more than once.

"During those non-league days I met up with Derrick Keighley who was the chairman of Great Harwood and later a director at Blackburn. When Gordon Lee left Rovers in 1975 and the vacancy cropped up, Derrick rang to see if I fancied it.

"Did I. Funnily enough two of the lads who will be down at our place tomorrow, Tony Parkes and Derek Fazackerley, were in the side then.

"We played some great football and I reckon we were a genuine goalscorer away from going up. We tried the likes of Jack Lewis, Bobby Svarc and John Radford, but the key to us missing the boat lay in the deal that didn't come off. I tried to sign Steve Kindon, but we couldn't afford the £75,000 and that was that.

"I signed two wingers in David Wagstaffe and Gordon Taylor and they did fantastically well. I have spent millions in the transfer market, lost count after all this time, but, pound for pound, Waggy must go down as the best. He only cost us three grand and was a cult hero by half-time in his first match."

Jim was one in a line of Rovers managers of the era who went on to bigger and better things. Started with Ken Furphy, then Lee, then Smith.

Jim puts that impressive record - one to make the likes of Burnley and Preston wince with pain, not to mention squirm with embarrassment - down fairly and squarely to good housemanship.

"The directors at Blackburn were a rare breed. They knew what was needed and got on and did it. If you couldn't have something they told you straight, but if they could support you they would. It was a great experience - but, believe me, it hasn't always been the case since.

"Their knowledge of the game enabled them to get the right men in as manager and two decads on, they've done it again.

"Getting a hold of Roy Hodgson was a great move - I've known Roy for a long time and that was one astute appointment." "I felt a bit guilty when I left and it was no easy decision, but I have retained a close interest in the club and will always look back with happiness on my time there."

Apart from a few notable exceptions, including ex-England supremo Graham Taylor (Watford), Jim is listed among today's longest-serving managers.

But there is no sign of him pinning up his last teamsheet. The buzz factor remains intact.

"Love it. Yeh there's pressure, but there's always been pressure. The day I don't enjoy it is the day i walk away and opt for the quiet life."

He's 57, always known what he's about and where he's going - but he's never been sure where to call home.

"That's a tough one for a guy who has been in the North East (Newcastle), Midlands (Birmingham) and South Coast (Portsmouth) among many others.

"But, if you pin me on it, I'd have to say Oxford, simply because that's where my family is. That's probably where I'll end up."

But not, it seems, for some time yet.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.