WHEN Eddie Nolan made his Rovers debut almost 11 years ago it came at a time when they were trying to secure top spot in their UEFA Cup group.

He returns to Ewood Park this weekend with Rovers aiming to avoid being knocked out of the FA Cup before the third round for the first time since the 1972/73 season.

The last team to beat them in the second round were Nolan’s current employers Crewe Alexandra.

Times have certainly changed at Ewood in recent years, with Sunday’s tie against the Alex being their first at this stage of the competition for 37 years.

It is a far cry from the club that defender Nolan left in 2008.

Then Rovers had consolidated themselves in the Premier League’s top 10 and had reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 2007, the season in which Nolan made his one and only appearance for the club in the UEFA Cup against Nancy.

On that occasion, a late Lucas Neill strike handed Rovers the win and progression to the round of 32, where German side Bayer Leverkusen proved too strong.

Of seeing Rovers in the third tier, Nolan told the Lancashire Telegraph: “I’ve been back twice before when they were in the Championship and it’s a shame but it looks like they have a good manager in there who is steadying the ship.

“It’s a massive club, you only have to look at the facilities, the two training grounds, the stadium, and not many teams have won the Premier League either so they need to get back there.”

This will in fact be Nolan’s second visit of the year to Ewood having been an unused substitute for Blackpool in Rovers’ 2-0 win over the Seasiders in round four in January.

He has a win in East Lancashire under his belt since leaving for Preston, initially on loan and then on a permanent deal in 2009, having been part of the Scunthorpe side which caused a League Cup shock in 2014.

But the boy who joined Rovers from Bohemians as a teenager only has fond memories of his time at Ewood.

“It’s a long time ago, I’ve been back a couple of times since,” the 29-year-old said.

“That was where I learned my trade, that put me in good stead for the future.

“I went back in the FA Cup last season and then in the League Cup a couple of years ago and it’s all completely different, I don’t think there’s one member of staff still there so it’s all new faces for me.

“I was there four years and loved it. It is a shame the way the club has gone downhill since the new owners came in.

“They had players with the quality of the likes of Benni McCarthy and it’s sad that they are in League One.

“The club should still be in the Premier League, it shouldn’t be in League One.

“But they are starting to pick up now, they had a slow start but have built up a few decent results lately and I think they will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.”

Nolan recalls playing for his local side in tournament football before being given the invitation to travel to Blackburn and eventually sign professional terms with the club. Describing the decision as a ‘no brainer’ Nolan’s cause was helped by a number of Irish players coming through at the same time including Jonathan Douglas, Keith Treacy, Alan Judge and Tony Kane.

Handed a squad number at the start of the 2006/07 season when just 17, Nolan’s big break came as a substitute in the final UEFA Cup group game against Nancy at Ewood in December 2006.

“I was only 18 at the time and Mark Hughes gave me my chance so I’m very grateful,” he recalls.

“I remember Toddy (Andy Todd) going down injured and I didn’t know what to think, I was just so nervous.

“I didn’t have time to think about it which made it a lot easier.”

Now at Crewe, Nolan is targeting another Ewood upset and takes heart from Crewe having already knocked out League One opposition in the competition, beating Rotherham United in round one.

Given his age and experience Nolan is one of the elder statesman at Crewe, a club renowned for producing, and blooding, their own young talent.

And Nolan is hoping the League Two side will rise to the occasion.

He added: “It’s a big game and one that we’re all looking forward to.

“It’s another chance to knock out a bigger team which we did in the last round so we’re hoping to get back to winning ways and hopefully we can take that in to the league matches.

“We’ll do our homework on them, how they play. Every game is important to us, we’ve had a few poor results of late and we have to start building that momentum and it would be no better place for us to start.

“I think for a lot of the young lads it will be one of the biggest stadiums they have played at so for that reason they will be looking forward to it. We will be looking to go there and causing an upset and get in to the third round.

“I think we’re more than capable on our day of being a match for most teams.”