Jordan Rhodes had a big impact at Rovers – but the forward admits there is still a tinge of frustration they couldn’t quite reach the play-offs.

Rhodes scored 85 goals during a three-and-a-half-year spell at Ewood Park, becoming a firm fan favourite.

He was a key part of the squad that finished eighth in the 2013/14 campaign, finding the net 25 times in all competitions.

Rhodes, who formed an effective partnership with Rudy Gestede that season, still finds himself wondering what might have been had they secured a top six spot.

“When we look back, with the team we had at the time and some of the players we had, where they have gone onto in the future, some of them are still playing at the top level now,” he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

“You probably look back with a tinge of what could have been. If we had got ourselves in the play-offs, we’d have been there on merit and given ourselves a chance at going up to the Premier League.

“There was on season, in particular, where we should really have threatened it but the past is the past. Everything happens for a reason and it wasn’t to be.”

Rhodes was snapped up by Middlesbrough in 2016 and went on to have spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Norwich before later returning to Huddersfield.

The 33-year-old is currently plying his trade in League One with Blackpool after joining the Seasiders on loan.

He has made a strong start to the campaign, scoring nine goals in 11 league appearances including a hat trick against Reading last month.

“I am really enjoying my time here,” Rhodes continued. “They are a really good bunch of lads, both on and off the field.

“It is a talented squad that can mix it with the best in League One. They are good human beings, which always helps coming into an environment.

“The manager and the coaching staff have been spot on, exactly what I needed at this stage of my career.”

He added: “The manager has an array of good strikers to choose from. There are some really talented frontmen in the team.

“Nothing is taken as a given, I have just got to work as hard as I can for the team. If that is in the starting spot, it is great.

“If it is off the bench or in a role off the field, I will do whatever I can to help around the place.”

Neil Critchley’s side are aiming to bounce back from relegation last season and currently sit in seventh place.

“There are some really talented footballers in there,” said Rhodes. “I wish I had the talent of some of them!

“There are too many to mention. Some of them are new, some of them have been here a few years already.

“It’s just about trying to knuckle down as a team. The games are coming thick and fast as they do in this league, with the cup demands and everything else that goes with it.

“It is just about making sure everyone is ready and when the manager calls upon us, we can go and do right for the team.”