BRETT Ormerod has been on a rollercoaster since his football career began at the tender age of 10-years-old.

It was then that he moved from Crewe Alexandra's School of Excellence to a similar set-up at Blackburn Rovers.

But while it was his dream of playing for his home-town club, things didn't quite go to plan.

He suffered a host of injury setbacks and at one stage even lost interest in football altogether after being released at the end of his traineeship.

Thankfully, he has overcome those demons and is now on the crest of a wave and happier than ever now he's made a name for himself in the Premiership since signing for Southampton in December 2001.

But his dream of playing in the top flight seemed anything like but becoming reality in May 1995.

"It was the season Rovers won the championship and it was a great time to be involved with the club," Ormerod explained.

But the celebrations soon turned sour for the former Norden High School pupil after he was released from the club he had grown up supporting.

"Things hadn't really worked out for me. Rovers had a team full of internationals and there were good young players coming through. Someone had to go. It wasn't just me, there were other kids in other positions who didn't make it either," the striker said.

"Blackburn were one of the busiest teams in the transfer market and they were buying quality players.

"They had Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton up front and Mike Newell and Kevin Gallacher playing in the reserves as well. It didn't give a lot of kids the chance to break through, especially in my position."

Ormerod's cause hadn't been helped by severe injury setbacks.

In his final year as a trainee he had a double hernia operation and suffered a fractured shoulder blade.

On quitting Ewood Park, Ormerod, then 18, was at a complete loose end.

Unsure about his future, he took a job at a textile factory in Great Harwood and spent his spare time going out with his friends, until Accrington Stanley handed him a career lifeline.

"I pretty much gave up on football but agreed to go training with Accrington after being approached by then reserve team manager Steve O'Brien," he said.

"It took me a month or two to get playing properly after my operation. Once I'd recovered, I signed a two-year contract in October 1995."

But it wasn't until the following season that Ormerod began to regularly feature in the first team.

"Tony Greenwood had come in as manager and in that season I scored 32 goals in 40 appearances, 14 of which were as a substitute."

Such a goal tally soon began to catch the eye of the local professional clubs. Burnley, Preston and Blackpool were all rumoured to be interested in the non-league hotshot but speculation dragged on for over anything happened on the transfer front.

"I'd be lying if I said the rumours didn't affect me but I just tried to get on with my game something happened when I least expected it to."

Reds chairman Eric Whalley took Ormerod to one side after a midweek trip to Gainsborough to tell him they had accepted an offer from Blackpool. They both travelled to Bloomfield Road the following day, where a contract was on the table ready for Ormerod to sign.

"Eric took me for lunch so I could have a think about it. He bought me a McDonalds so he must have felt good about the transfer because he doesn't usually spend money on people," the 26-year-old joked.

Ormerod signed for £50,000, but his progress with the Seasiders was interrupted by managerial changes and more injuries - he broke his leg in October 1999 and didn't play for the rest of that season.

Gary Megson left Blackpool to take over at Stockport County, Nigel Worthington replaced him but didn't immediately take to the new striker. Ormerod then broke his leg in October 1999 and didn't play for the rest of that season, which ended in Blackpool being relegated to the Third Division.

But once he had recovered, Steve McMahon, who replaced Worthington, gave Ormerod the chance to shine. He repaid his boss by ending the season as top scorer and leading his team to promotion via the play-offs.

Back in the Second Division, Ormerod scored 20 goals by the end of November 2001 and the rumour mill started up once more, with Premiership clubs being drawn to the impressive centre forward.

He signed for Southampton for £1.5 million - eventually rising to £1.75M on appearances - a month later, with Stanley receiving a one-off payment. And the goals have kept coming.

"I played in the reserves against Wimbledon in October and scored a hat-trick, then we played Tranmere Rovers in the Worthington Cup and I scored another hat-trick before scoring twice against Manchester City," said Ormerod, who has settled in his new home with girlfriend Lisa and two-year-old son Dylon.

Ormerod will not forget the footballing lifeline that Accrington Stanley threw his way.

"I loved it at Accrington. After losing interest in football and being a bit disillusioned with the game, I met a lot of good lads at the club and loved everything about playing there. And now I'm playing in one of the best leagues in the world."