GARY Bowyer admitted he had a lump in his throat after an emotional reunion with the fans that used to chant his name from the Ewood Park stands.

Those same supporters were back it again on Saturday, giving their old boss a few renditions of ‘There’s one one Gary Bowyer’ and ‘Gary, Gary gives us a wave’ from the Mortensen End at Bloomfield Road shortly after kick-off in the pre-season friendly.

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For his part Bowyer, who was sacked last November after a poor start to the season, obliged with a wave in their direction.

At full-time he went one better and approached the travelling faithful to clap his appreciation of their good wishes.

And once the supporters had filtered out, he revealed he was touched by their gestures.

“I think they were terrific,” he said.

“I’ve always said they were fantastic to me, they showed me great support whilst I was there. “I think it was recognition for the job that we did there and I was fully appreciative of it today.

“It brought a lump to my throat, so I’d like to thank them very much for that.”

When asked what he thought of the Rovers performance he insisted he was more focused on his own side, who took the lead through Kyle Vassell before being pegged back by Ben Marshall’s goal before half-time.

But he he did admit there was plenty of talent in the ranks, highlighting one new signing in particular.

Bowyer said: “Danny Graham proved last season what a good player he is, scoring the goals for them.

“That was vital signing for them and he’s going to be a massive threat in the Championship again.

“You look on the pitch at the quality, and the quality that they’ve brought on. It’s still a very good squad there.

“It was good (to see some old faces). For some of them it’s the first time I’ve seen them since we were harshly removed, shall we say.”

Of his own side, Bowyer said: “We grew into the game, we were brave at times with the ball and I thought from a defensive point of view that our organisation and our recovery runs were terrific.

“Overall I’m very pleased .”