AS Chris Samba sat alone in the dark, trapped in a hotel room overlooking Blackburn Rovers' Brockhall training base, he wanted to pack his bags and leave.

It was a cold, unforgiving, night in the middle of January, and a violent storm was raging outside, battering the building from every angle.

Slates were ripped off the roof, and the debris sent cart wheeling across the car-park.

The weather was so severe it caused a power cut, plunging the whole area into darkness.

Frustrated not just by the Arctic conditions, but also by Mark Hughes' insistence that he had to play in a specially arranged trial game with the reserves the following day, Samba was ready to walk.

Surely he had done enough in the previous four days to convince the manager he was worth a gamble?

That thought kept turning over in his mind as he sheltered in The Avenue'. But, thankfully for Samba - and Blackburn - he was talked out of making the most costly mistake of his life by his advisor Simon Conning, who persuaded him to stay for an extra 24 hours.

Now 12 months on, Samba is sat in The Avenue' once again, and, having established himself as a regular in Hughes' first team, he is able to look back on that night through different eyes, appreciating the role fate played in leading him to where he is today.

"I just remember the storms were so bad, the roof was falling down, and all the electricity went off; there was no light in the room; no TV - nothing," said the giant defender.

"It was freezing cold and all I wanted to do was go home, because I'd had enough.

"The training had been going well so I was surprised when they asked me to play a game with the reserves at the end of the week.

"At first, I said I didn't want to do that, because I felt they had already seen what I could do.

"But my agent convinced me to stay and play in the game and now, obviously, after the way things have worked out, I am glad I did."

The events of that fateful January evening a year ago perfectly illustrate the fine line that exists between success and failure in professional sport.

Unable to command a regular first-team place with Hertha Berlin in Germany, Samba was looking to make a fresh start elsewhere and, having secured a five-day trial at Blackburn, it wasn't long before Hughes began to like what he saw.

The imposing African appeared to have the lot: he could win headers for fun; he possessed a decent turn of pace; and, surprisingly for a man of his stature, he was technically gifted in possession.

Yet the Rovers boss still insisted on seeing the 23-year-old in a specially arranged practice game before he agreed to sign him in a £400,000 deal.

Now 12 months later, Samba is comfortably worth ten times that amount - possibly 20 - after blossoming into one of the best young defenders in the Premier League.

Born in Creteil, just outside Paris, the 6ft 5in centre-back has come a long way since he got his first big break with Sedan, a small club in the French Second Division.

He spent a total of three years there and was just about to sign a new contract when, just like his trial at Blackburn, fate seemed to intervene.

"It was destiny at Sedan," he explains. "I broke my leg playing for them two months before the end of the season and my contract was running out.

"When they decided not to give me another one, I started training alone and then decided to go and train with Congo (where his parents were born).

"I had lots of trials with clubs during that time, but none of them came off. Then Hertha Berlin came in and decided to take me.

"I know some people will say today I might have had the possibility of playing for the French team.

"But if it wasn't for Congo, maybe I wouldn't be where I am now, so I will always be grateful to them. It's the way it had to be."

Strangely, Samba never fulfilled his potential at Berlin. But why?

"It was down to the politics of the club," he said.

"The two centre halves who were getting in ahead of me had been at the club for maybe eight or nine years, so it didn't matter if I came in and played one good game, or two good games; if they were coming back, then I would always go back to the bench.

"After a while you start to ask yourself, 'what's wrong. Am I good enough?' People are getting picked ahead of you. You can do good things in training but you know it doesn't matter because you won't play on Saturday. You begin to doubt yourself, so I took the decision to move."

Hertha's loss soon became Rovers' gain, and it wasn't long before the Blackburn fans were saluting a new cult hero, after Samba adapted surprisingly quickly to the pace of the Premier League.

"They (the manager and his coaching staff) made it easy for me by letting me play how I wanted to play," he said.

"They didn't try to make me into something I'm not. At Berlin, they tried to make me into something different; I wasn't allowed to be myself and play my natural game.

"In the modern game, central defenders have to be better on the ball.

"It's not just about defenders defending because, more and more these days, you see defenders scoring goals as well; whether it's from corners or free kicks, or from normal play.

"That's what modern football is like: you have to get better and better and not just be a good defender."

As well as being made to feel comfortable on the pitch, Samba has also settled into a new way of life off it, having set up home on the outskirts of Manchester with his partner Theresa, who he met in Berlin two and a half years ago, and their new baby son Tyrone.

When he's not busy changing nappies, he likes to unwind by playing Pro-Evolution Soccer on his X-Box 360, or cooking a meal for friends and family (the latter often drive over from Paris to watch him play).

But although Samba generally comes across as a laid-back individual, when it comes to his career, he seems to have a steely focus.

If he could have one wish then it would be to emulate his hero, Lilian Thuram, the tall, elegant, French international defender, who has played for some of the biggest clubs in Europe.

"I've got a Thuram shirt and I like him not just for his football ability, but for his personality as well," said Samba, who recently penned a new five-year contract as a reward for his staggering progress.

"They call him The Professor' and he wants only to be a football player and nothing else.

"He had a tough beginning but throughout his career, he has been a regular wherever he has been, and he has won everything there is to win.

"So if he can do it, I've got to believe I can, too.

"A year ago, who would have thought I'd be where I am today?"