JASON Wilcox has committed himself to Blackburn Rovers until the next century by signing a new five-year contract.

It crowns the tremendous recovery by the Ewood winger who battled back from career-threatening cruciate knee ligament surgery to win his first England cap.

And Wilcox, the man that Terry Venables decided he could do without in Euro 96, is delighted with the club's show of faith in him.

He said today: "I was really pleased by what the club offered me.

"I wanted to sign a new long-term contract and I am very happy it has been sorted out so quickly.

"Now all I want to do is start playing again. I can't wait for the games to start after missing so much of last season."

The new deal, which runs until 2001, is a major consolation to Wilcox to help atone for the disappointment of missing out on Euro 96 after he seemed to have played his way into the England squad.

It's also encouraging to see a home-grown player continue to prosper among a squad which cost millions to assemble.

Rovers supporters realised during his absence just how much the team missed Wilcox and he finished the season on a high after proving his fitness.

Since the controversial Bosman ruling, clubs have had to be on their guard to try to ensure their top players are safely under contract.

Wilcox spoke to manager Ray Harford about his situation when he returned from the Far East trip with the England squad. The financial discussions didn't take long to complete, with little haggling, and both club and player were more than satisfied with the outcome.

Ewood chairman Robert Coar said: "Jason worked tremendously hard to come back from serious injury and he had a very successful end to his season when he broke into the England squad.

"Many people felt he was unlucky not to make it into the Euro 96 squad.

"But there should be plenty of exciting times ahead for him and we are delighted that he has committed himself to the club for the next five years."

Wilcox, who began his career at Ewood, signed a new contract only two years ago.

But this latest deal will undoubtedly reflect his improved status in the game.

He signed full professional forms seven years ago, after the usual two-year apprenticeship, and has gone all the way from the YTS to an England cap.

Former Ewood central defender Andy Morrison looked set to move from Blackpool to Huddersfield Town this afternoon.

Morrison, a Seasiders club record signing at £245,000 when he went to Bloomfield Road in December 1994, was expected to cost Huddersfield £400,000.

He was at the centre of a transfer merry-go-round, sparked by the anticipated sale of Huddersfield striker Andy Booth to Sheffield Wednesday for £2.7 million.

Town boss Brian Horton was aiming to invest the cash in Marcus Stewart from Bristol Rovers, Morrison and Barnsley's Burnley-born striker Andy Payton.

Another ex-Rover Jimmy Quinn, who is joint player-manager of Reading, declined the chance of an interview in the search for a successor to Sam Allardyce as Blackpool boss.

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