CAN Matt Jansen ever get back to being the player he was three years ago before his motorbike accident?

That's the million pound question every Blackburn fan wants answering after the striker launched his latest comeback attempt with a goal in Tuesday night's friendly win at Grimsby.

It's a long time since we last saw Matt terrorising Premiership defences with the kind of dazzling performances that took him to the verge of Sven Goran Eriksson's England squad.

In his prime, Matt was one of the brightest young stars in the English game and he seemed destined to go on to bigger and better things after forging a lethal partnership with Andy Cole during the second half of that 2001/2002 season.

But then, tragically, later that summer the fickle hand of fate cruelly intervened and Matt careered off his motorbike in Rome - an accident which left him with serious head injuries.

The rest, as they say, is history and I won't bother dredging up the past because all Rovers fans don't want reminding.

What I will say, though, is Matt has never hit the same heights since, leaving many wondering 'will he ever be the same again?'

Hand on heart, I actually still believe Matt can get back to where he was, but it all depends on his own self belief and mental strength.

He's got to believe that he can recapture that form of old.

Tuesday's goal is a decent start. That strike at Grimsby will have given him a massive confidence boost.

All strikers thrive on goals and there's no greater feeling than seeing the ball hit the back of the net.

When you've gone a while without scoring like Matt had, it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders when one finally flies in.

Suddenly, you begin to relax again and everything starts coming naturally to you.

Let's just hope Matt builds on this now and his season takes off from here.

He'll be itching to play against Espanyol tomorrow and it's vital Sparky gives him that opportunity, otherwise the momentum from Grimsby will be lost.

I'm sure if Mark could have one wish then it would be to have the old Matt back again, firing on all cylinders, because that would be like signing a new £5 million striker.

Pre-season seems to have gone well so far and there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the campaign ahead.

It's a shame Craig Bellamy hasn't got more friendly action under his belt, but Mark seems confident he'll be fit to face West Ham a week tomorrow.

One player I'm more concerned about is David Thompson, who has yet to kick a ball in anger during the friendlies.

Tommo has been dogged by injuries over the last two years so to hear news that he's seen another specialist about his knee is bound to set alarm bells ringing.

Let's hope it's nothing serious, but once you miss a pre-season, you never properly catch up and that's the scenario facing Tommo now, which is a blow because he's one of the few midfielders in the squad that is capable of chipping in with important goals.