HUDDERSFIELD Town proved one loan too many for Blackburn Rovers new boy Elliott Ward.

In a career spanning 12 years, and nearly 300 league appearances, the centre-back knows what it is like to spend time away from his parent club.

But, after he returned to Bournemouth after a second stint at Rovers’ Championship rivals Huddersfield came to an end in December, he was determined his next move would be a permanent one.

Somewhere he could get a career that has seen him win promotion to the Premier League with West Ham United, Norwich City and Bournemouth firmly back on track.

And Ward is delighted that club has turned out to be Rovers as it has allowed him to link up with the manager under whom he has played some of his best football.

The 31-year-old was one of the cornerstones of the Paul Lambert Norwich side which finished second in the Championship in 2011.

And, having been reunited with Lambert at Rovers, he is looking forward to getting back to playing and putting down some roots.

“There was a bit of interest from the manager, he said to come up to see him, things got moving and now I’m a Blackburn player,” said Ward, who has signed a two-and-a-half year deal after he was released from the final six months of his Bournemouth contract.

“It was always on the cards that I’d leave Bournemouth and in some ways it was just all about getting the interest.

“There were other bids but they were probably loans. This was the first real move that I thought I needed to make. I knew the manager and it seemed a good fit.

“I went to Huddersfield twice before Christmas and the second time around it was under their new manager and he didn’t want to pick me because I wasn’t his player.

“That was fine but I didn’t want that to happen again so as soon as I knew the manager was interested, and I knew I could come, it was quite straight forward.”

The ‘manager’ he refers to, of course, is Rovers boss Lambert.

“I know what he wants,” continued Ward, who also worked under Rovers first-team coach Rob Kelly at Nottingham Forest, one of seven clubs he has been on loan at.

“He demands high standards. If you don’t let him down, you’ll be fine. It’s the way it is and it’s the way it should be.

“Sometimes football can be a game of lies, sometimes it can be black and white, but I know where I stand here, and that’s why I’m here.”

Lambert moved for Ward after previous ever-present Shane Duffy sustained a groin injury and Matt Kilgallon was struck down by illness.

One or both could yet return for today’s trip to Charlton Athletic and, with captain Grant Hanley Rovers’ first-choice centre-back, Ward knows he has a fight on his hands to get into the team and get the game time he craves.

“I hope to be involved at the weekend,” said the Londoner, who was troubled by a knee injury in his two final full seasons at Bournemouth.

“That’s the first game and we’ll go from there but I’m ready to go.

“It’s all about playing games as I’m a bit bored of training all week and not getting games.

“Your job is to play games and when you train all week and you don’t do your job at the end of it, it’s frustrating.

“That’s the way it is and it happens to a lot of players, and I’m no different, but that’s the past now and this is the future.

“I’ve come here to play but I know first I’ve got to get into the team and then go from there. Nothing is a given in football, I’ll just have to train well and see where it takes me.”