BLACKBURN midfielder David Dunn believes his career is finally back on track thanks to tough task-master Mark Hughes.

After spending three years in the football wilderness, Dunn is starting to make headlines again for all the right reasons following an encouraging start to the season in Rovers' midfield engine room.

And the former Birmingham star puts his recent renaissance firmly down to one thing - the exacting standards demanded by his new manager and his team of coaching staff.

Four years ago, the 27-year-old was famously accused of taking his eye off the ball' by former Rovers boss Graeme Souness, who seemed to suggest that outside influences were starting to dominate the player's life more than his football.

Although Dunn strenuously denied that accusation at the time, he has since had time to reflect on those comments, and he now admits he was perhaps not as focussed as he might have been during those early days of his career.

Dunn said the penny finally dropped when he returned to Rovers earlier this year and got an immediate taste of the standards expected by the Hughes regime.

Every training session had an intensity about it Dunn had never previously experienced, and he believes the desire to succeed which now exists within the club is not only bringing out the best in him, but the rest of the team as well.

In fact, Dunn's blistering early season form has been so impressive that leading figures like Derek Fazackerley believe he could even play himself back into contention for an England recall at some point.

For now, though, all Dunn is concentrating on is doing his best for Rovers after the last six months have proved a rude awakening.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow's clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, the Rovers midfielder said: "I don't really think about it (England).

"A few people have mentioned it in the last couple of weeks but I know what I need to do. I need to keep playing well for Blackburn, and keep putting in performances consistently.

"First and foremost, I just want to show people at this club that I'm back before anything else comes along.

"I also want to do it for myself as much as anything because I know that in the past there have been times when I've let myself down a little bit.

"But I'm lucky in the fact that I'm only 27 and there's bags of time to put that right.

"The penny's dropped and I know what I need to do."

Dunn appeared to have lost his appetite for the game during his ill-fated spell at Birmingham, where a catalogue of injuries and homesickness took a heavy toll on him, both physically and mentally.

But salvation then came in the shape of a January move to Rovers, and Dunn has since rediscovered the old spark that made him a big fans' favourite during his first spell at Ewood.

"Maybe when I had my injuries, I still didn't know exactly what I needed to do at the time to get myself right," he said.

"I saw a guy in Birmingham who got my head right, and I worked hard with a couple of other people down there, which was great.

"But I think the big thing was when I came to Blackburn and saw how professional this place was, and what was really expected of you to perform at this level.

"Every single day in training you've got to be at it, and the standard here is great.

"If it does drop below that then you do get told about it and they're not happy.

"And, likewise, when you are doing well, they encourage you and praise you as well.

"So every single day I come into training now, I know I've got to be right at it.

"Everyone here, from one to 18, goes out to training wanting to be the best player out there, and that's a great thing to have in a team."

That spirit and determination to succeed will face perhaps the ultimate test tomorrow when Rovers head to Stamford Bridge, looking to end Chelsea's 65 match unbeaten home league record.

When the two sides last met, in an FA Cup semi-final at Old Trafford in April, Dunn was outstanding as Rovers went within an ace of beating Jose Mourinho's millionaires, eventually losing 2-1 in agonising circumstances after extra-time.

That was the last time Rovers tasted defeat and, having gone 14 games unbeaten in all competitions since then, Dunn insists a belief now exists within the squad that they can compete with anyone on an equal footing.

"I think we are going into every game now believing we can get something from it," he added.

"We feel we are in a position now where we can compete with and take on some of the other teams that are up there."