BLACKBURN Rovers striker Matt Jansen today opened his heart and spoke of the depths to which his career had sunk under Graeme Souness.

The 26-year-old forward, who is currently enjoying something of a renaissance under new boss Mark Hughes, believes Souness had 'given up' on him as a player during the latter stages of his Ewood reign.

And Jansen admits he became so demoralised under the old regime that his confidence was in ruins by the time Souness quit for Newcastle last month.

Thankfully, the former England Under 21 international is now slowly beginning to put his career back together again with the help of Hughes and his new backroom team.

But Jansen knows the picture could have been so much different had Souness stayed in the hot-seat much longer and continued to leave him rotting in the reserves.

Originally, the former Rovers boss had been one of the striker's staunchest supporters when he first arrived at Ewood and he was largely responsible for catapulting Jansen to the verge of the England squad.

But then the former Crystal Palace star suffered a major set-back when he sustained serious head injuries as a result of a motorbike accident two years ago and he's been fighting to save his career ever since.

For a time, Souness gave Jansen every opportunity to prove he had made a full recovery by offering him numerous first team chances.

However, that patience finally appeared to have run out at the start of this season and it got to the point where the former Rovers boss was willing to let Jansen leave on a free before the transfer deadline expired at the end of August, only for the player to reject a move to Celta Vigo.

"After the accident I was struggling to get back up to where I wanted to be and I think he gave up on me," said Jansen.

"He was fine with me as a person but I just think he gave up on me as a player.

"There was no light at the end of the tunnel. By the end, I was just playing for the sake of playing because I was told to play and they were paying my wages.

"But there was no light and no hope so I was basically just turning up and playing games in the reserves and then going home again.

"After a while it just becomes demoralising and it doesn't give you any confidence whatsoever.

"So I've gone as low as you can go and now I'm just trying to build myself up again."

The low point for Jansen under Souness came in the summer when he was included in the squad that travelled to Germany for a pre-season tour only to then find he was bombed out of the manager's plans without an explanation once they returned to England.

From that point on, he found himself in the reserves and there was even a point when the first team coaching staff suggested that Tony Parkes should make Jansen a substitute for the second string to see how he would react.

"It was a nightmare because you were working hard but however well you did, it didn't seem to matter," said Jansen.

"But what do you do? Do you give up and go somewhere else or do you carry on and bide your time and wonder if something is going to change?

"Thankfully, something did change and a new manager came in so hopefully I can repay the faith he has shown in me."

That faith was evident from the moment Hughes took the reins at Rovers as he named Jansen on the bench for his first game in charge and he's also featured in the two matches since.

"When you're thrown back into it there's a lot of expectation and people start saying should he have been playing? So you're nervous as Hell and that's the most nervous I've ever been playing football," said Jansen, who was hoping to be involved against Aston Villa today.

"But the manager has been great with me. He talks to you constantly and asks you how you're feeling and how you're doing so it's been good.

"I know it won't come over night but if I can keep playing games and keep building my confidence up then hopefully I'll recapture my old form."