DAVID Dunn is determined to end the season where it started after declaring himself fully fit to help shoot Blackburn Rovers up the Premier League table.
The Rovers midfielder signalled his intent with the winner in Monday night’s 1-0 reserve win over Hull City and is now eyeing up a first Premier League start since the defeat at Manchester City two months ago.
Dunn has endured a frustrating last few months since limping off with a calf injury in Rovers’ goalless draw at home to Stoke City at the end of November and, despite coming off the bench in the home win over Bolton, remained an unused substitute in the 2-1 defeat at Anfield.
Ahead of Saturday’s trip to Tottenham though, Dunn remains the club’s leading Premier League scorer with five goals, and is just one behind Nikola Kalinic’s total tally, and is now eyeing a more pivotal role at White Hart Lane.
He said: “It is always good to be back out there and playing football. I have had a couple of games for the reserves and a couple of first team substitute appearances and am looking to try and force my way back into the first team.
“I feel ready but then I have felt ready for a while now. I have been fit for three weeks and feel like I can get back to where I was before I got injured.
“It has been frustrating but you are going to pick little things up. That is just football unfortunately, I am fine with it all now.
“The plan is to end the season in the form I started it in. I certainly believe in my ability.
"We have a lot of good players here and I feel if I am fit the rest takes care of itself.”
Dunn’s early season form was enough to convince Rovers to offer their home-grown star a two and a half year contract extension, a deal the 30-year-old signed towards the end of January.
He is now relishing playing his part in an ‘exciting future’ at Ewood Park - pointing to Rovers’ up and coming stars as reasons for optimism.
He said: “I am looking forward to playing a part here over the next few years. Hopefully I can help the young players along - I think there is a part to play there as well.”
Rovers travel to London on the back of Rafa Benitez’s stinging criticism of their ‘physical style’, after theIr narrow Anfield defeat, but manager Sam Allardyce has already hit back.
Dunn now is determined to concentrate on the present and future and insists he does not care what anyone says about Rovers.
“I think the manager hit the nail on the head with what he said,” said Dunn.
“I’m not too concerned with what anyone else says. It really doesn’t matter what people say.
"We just have to go out there and get three points in whatever way we feel is right at the time.
“Tottenham beat us at Ewood so the idea is to go there and give them a bit of their own medicine. We have had decent results against them in the past few years so it would be good to go there and get another one.
“They have loads of good players there but if we go there and play like we have the last couple of games we will give them a good game.
“One thing we are looking forward to doing is improving our away form and we believe we can do that.”
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