BRADLEY Orr has expressed his gratitude to Michael Appleton for giving him a second chance at Blackburn Rovers after being told he would never play for the club again.

Orr has started Rovers’ last three games after being recalled from a loan at Ipswich following Appleton’s appointment as boss at Ewood Park.

The 30-year-old had previously looked set to remain at Portman Road until the end of the season after being deemed surplus to requirements at Rovers.

But Orr says the only reason he joined Ipswich in November was because he was told he had no future at Ewood, despite being a regular at the start of the season under Steve Kean.

And the right back is relishing playing for Rovers once more.

“I’m really enjoying it,” Orr said. “I just love playing football and certainly for a great club like Blackburn. It is a privilege for someone like myself.

“What happened earlier on in the season was a little bit out of my hands. I was told more or less to find myself a club.

“I was told that I wouldn’t play for the club again, which was a sickener for me because it’s a great football club and one that has got every chance of getting back up to the Premier League, which is where I want to be.

“But football changes all the time. The staff at the club changed and the new manager came in and gave me a phone call straight away.

“He said he saw a role for me at the club still, which was obviously very encouraging for me because I could get back to my actual parent club who pay my wages.”

Orr admitted he could not contemplate staying with Rovers earlier in the season when he was told he would not play. The move to Ipswich was completed swiftly.

“What do you do?” he said. “I had to get my head around what I was getting told, that I had no future here.

“I went down to Ipswich, which is probably the furthest place I could have picked, away from my family, which was tough.

“But unfortunately I’m not good enough to be able to pick and choose what football clubs I can play for.

“I had to just go and be as professional as possible and play football where someone wanted me for three months.

“The reason that I did want to get away from the club as soon as I got told was that I didn’t want to be a negative influence within the dressing room subconsciously, because you go from playing week-in week-out to being told you’ve got no future.

“I’ve got good mates at the club right throughout the dressing room who I genuinely wanted to succeed.”

And Orr thinks Appleton has made a big difference since taking over.

“Spirit is what the dressing room has got in abundance at the minute,” he said. “The gaffer has come in and instilled a work ethic that has certainly gone through the roof in terms of tempo in training.

“There is a real will to win for your mate, not just for yourself but you don’t want to let anyone down.”