SEBASTIEN Perez revealed last night that the 'spirit' of English football was the main reason why he agreed to a £3 million move from Bastia to Blackburn Rovers, writes PETER WHITE.

And the versatile French star also proved he was a man of his word - by turning down the likes of Manchester United, AC Milan and Paris SG to sign for Rovers boss Roy Hodgson.

He was also swayed by the opinions of Patrick Valery, a former Bastia team-mate who joined Rovers a year ago.

Perez, also chased by Marseille, confirmed that United had made a late approach to try to tempt him to Old Trafford.

But he explained: "Blackburn were the first club in for me and when I spoke to Roy Hodgson I gave him my word that if I was to leave France I would come to Blackburn.

"I played in the Bastia team with Patrick, he is my friend and we call each other a lot.

"He told me that the people here are right behind the team and the atmosphere is very good. And I wanted to come to England because of the English spirit."

First team coach Derek Fazackerley, standing in for manager Roy Hodgson who is on World Cup duty, said of the 24-year-old: "We feel he is a quality player and we have monitored him closely.

"Roy was very anxious to secure his signature and Sebastien is a very versatile player who can play anywhere down the right-hand side."

Perez, married to Rachel with a five-months-old daughter Camille, can play either on the right-hand side of defence, or further forward and he does like to contribute goals as he showed for Bastia in the French League last season.

"It is no problem to me where I play. I began in defence but I also like to move onto the offensive," he added.

Although competition proved too tough for him to make it to this summer's French World Cup squad, the former under-21 international figured in the home-based representative team, named annually by reputable French sports daily L'Equipe.

Existing Ewood season-ticket holders who wish to guarantee renewal of their own seats have only until Saturday, July 4, to do so. Anyone needing further details about season tickets can visit the stadium or call the hotline free on 0321-101010.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.