BARRY Ferguson today admitted he suffered from homesickness during the early months of his Blackburn career but the plucky midfielder never once thought about packing it all in and returning to Scotland.

The 25-year-old, who is currently recovering from a serious knee injury, desperately missed his family and friends as he struggled to adapt to his new life in England.

For 17 years, Rangers Football Club was all he had known, so his decision to sever the umbilical cord and join Rovers in a £7.5 million deal last August represented a major gamble, especially when it meant leaving his young family behind in Glasgow initially.

A delay in finding a house in the North West meant Ferguson spent much of his early days at Blackburn holed up in a hotel room on his own.

It was a lonely existence for a man who was used to being surrounded by a close network of family and friends.

So it's hardly surprising that his form suffered on the pitch as he battled to prove himself in the cut and thrust of the Premiership.

"There was a time when I was suffering from homesickness but I was never at the stage where I wanted to go back to Scotland," said Ferguson.

"I knew it would happen because I'd spoken to people who had experienced it in the past.

"When you go somewhere new, it always takes time to settle in.

"I'd been at Rangers from the age of eight and I'd always known my family and friends were five minutes away so it was suddenly difficult going back to my hotel at 2pm after training and not having much to do.

"I went shopping with a few of the boys, which kept me going, but they had things to do with their own families and at times I did find it difficult being here on my own.

"But after the first couple of months, I started to get used to it and that's all behind me now."

During those first few months, Ferguson found himself regularly dashing up and down the M6 as he tried to get some snatched time with his family in between training sessions with his new team-mates.

Rovers boss Graeme Souness tended to give his squad Wednesdays off so Ferguson would often head straight for Scotland as soon as training finished on Tuesdays and then return again at 7 o'clock on Thursday morning.

It was a gruelling schedule but it was a sacrifice well worth making if it meant spending more time with his wife and two young children.

"I couldn't do that indefinitely. At one point, I was thinking about keeping the family up there but I don't think that would have worked out in the long run," he said.

"Thankfully, the house is now sorted and my family have been able to move down here with me, which has made a big difference.

"We are living over in Lytham and it's really nice there. I was thinking of going to Manchester but I spoke to Colin Hendry about it and he said Lytham is a great place to bring up your children. It's also very similar to where I stay up the road so we've found it easy to settle in."

As life settled down for Ferguson off the pitch, it was no coincidence that he began to find his feet on it.

Souness had built up everyone's expectations by saying he had the potential to become Rovers' answer to Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira, and he was just starting to live up to that hype when disaster struck at Newcastle's St James's Park on December 28.

Ferguson collapsed to the ground in agony following an innocuous-looking tackle on Gary Speed and it later became clear that he had fractured his kneecap.

"I just saw Gary Speed collecting the ball about 10 yards away with his back to me. As he turned, I went to shut him down and nicked the ball but his knee hit mine.

"It was a freak incident and I've never experienced pain like that before in my life.

"I was in absolute agony and I didn't even know where I was for a while.

"I've got to say the Newcastle lads were great. Craig Bellamy, Peter Beardsley and Steven Caldwell came in to see me when I was lying in the dressing room, which was nice of them.

"I can only remember them holding my hand and giving me a drink and whatever while the doc and Dave Fevre were doing something to my knee, but I couldn't tell you what."

Ferguson underwent surgery the following day which involved wiring his kneecap back together.

It was a delicate procedure and Ferguson admits there was a time when he feared for his career.

"When most people get injuries, they do fear the worst and the first thing you think is 'will I play again?' But I'm a positive person and I know I'll be alright," said the former Rangers skipper.

"It just came at the worst possible time because I felt I was just starting to show the fans what I could do."

Ferguson has made impressive progress since he left hospital, so much so that the medical staff believe he may even be back before the end of the season.

If that were to happen, then it would come as a major boost to Rovers' survival hopes.

The player himself is itching to return, not just to help the club in their fight to beat the drop but to silence a few of his critics north of the border, too.

Pundits like Ian St John said he made a mistake in joining Blackburn and Ferguson has no intention of giving them the satisfaction of saying 'I told you so.'

"Certain people up the road started having a go at me for choosing Blackburn, particularly when they saw us struggling in the table," said Ferguson.

"But I don't care about those guys. They've got their own opinion. I'm happy and that's the main thing.

"The Premiership is the best league in the world and this is where I've always wanted to play."

As for the future, Ferguson remains convinced that Rovers still have it in them to be a top six side again.

"I wouldn't have signed if I didn't believe that. If we can add another two or three players then I don't see why we can't be challenging up there.

"We've just got to try and get that bit of consistency and if we do that then we can definitely be a top six team. Definitely."