DAVID Dunn is entering his 10th season as a Blackburn Rovers player, albeit with a three-and-a-half season spell at Birmingham City in between.

The lifelong Rovers fan, born in Great Harwood, became a trainee at Ewood Park in 1997 and realised his dream when he made his senior debut in a 0-0 draw with Everton on September 1998.

The midfielder has gone on to make 309 appearances, including a Worthington Cup final victory and European football qualification, during which time he has enjoyed his fair share of highs and a few lows.

The Lancashire Telegraph charts his journey.

1998/99: Dunn realised his boyhood dream when he made his debut at Everton on September 1998. Unfortunately a red card issued to Martin Dahlin saw him sacrificed by boss Roy Hodgson 11 minutes later. Dunn’s next senior appearance was far more memorable though as he gave Rovers fans an early glimpse of what was to follow. He scored the winning penalty in a shootout victory over Newcastle in the League Cup and his first Premier League start followed against Liverpool in November. He went on to make 10 appearances that season with his first goal coming in a 3-1 away win at Aston Villa. The campaign though ended in relegation to the Championship.

1999/2000: Rovers struggled to establish themselves as a leading light back in Division One under first Brian Kidd, then Tony Parkes and finally Graeme Souness. Dunn as well experienced a mixed campaign as Rovers could only finish in mid-table, but did make 26 appearances and score three goals.

2000/01: A stunning season for both the midfielder and Rovers. Souness led the blue and white army to promotion back into the Premier League, with Dunn almost an ever present. In that campaign, he made 52 appearances and scored 18 goals. It was in that campaign that Dunn achieved the unique feat of scoring a hat-trick of penalties in a Worthington Cup win over Rochdale.

2001/02: Dunn continued his good form as Rovers impressed on their return to the Premier League. He scored eight goals in 36 appearances, including a brace at Highbury in a 3-3 draw with Arsenal. The highlight of that season came with their Worthington Cup final win against Spurs in February 2002 - Rovers first major trophy for almost three quarters of a century.

2002/03: Rovers continued their revival under Souness by finishing sixth in the Premier League and qualifying for the UEFA Cup the following season. Dunn again made a good contribution, making 30 appearances and again hitting eight goals. He also earned his sole international cap, playing 43 minutes as a substitute in a 1-1 draw with Portugal in September. The unthinkable happened in the summer though as Dunn, who felt he was playing out of position, fell out with Souness and was sold to Birmingham City for £5.5m.

2006/07: After an injury-plagued few seasons at Birmingham, Dunn looked set for a return to the north west with Sam Allardyce ready to sign him for Bolton in January. At the 11th hour though, with Dunn already having passed a medical at the Reebok, Mark Hughes stepped in to bring the Ewood Park darling back home for a fee believed to be in the region of £2.2m. He made his Rovers return in a 2-1 win over Sheffield United on February 3 and went on to make 16 appearances as Rovers finished mid-table.

2007/08: Dunn was a regular as Rovers finished a creditable seventh in the Premier League. A final day 4-1 drubbing by Birmingham City though cost Rovers their chance of European football and saw Mark Hughes quit Ewood Park for Manchester City that summer. Dunn’s only goal of the campaign came in the 1-1 home draw with Arsenal in only the second game of the season.

2008/09: Paul Ince arrived as manager at Ewood in the summer of 2008 and immediately appointed Dunn as his vice captain. The season started in style for him as well as he scored Rovers’ opener in their thrilling 3-2 win at Everton in Ince’s first game in charge. That was almost as good as it got for Dunn though in a campaign disrupted by a series of injuries, including an Achilles operation. Ince hailed his return to fitness in December as a ‘turning point’ but the next game he was fired and Dunn only made another 12 appearances.

2009/10: His best season at Rovers since his early days at Ewood Park. He embarked on a remarkable scoring run, including strikes against Wolves, Aston Villa, Arsenal, Bolton. He also scored in both of Rovers’ wins against Burnley. Dunn’s form led to some calling for an international recall but an untimely injury halted his run. In total, Dunn made 28 appearances and scored 10 goals helping Rovers to 10th in the Premier League.

2010/11: Dunn goes into the new campaign as a key man for Rovers’ hopes of emulating last season’s top half finish. Sam Allardyce has found a system ideally suited to Dunn’s talents – expect another big season.