DEPARTING hero David Dunn has hailed fellow former Blackburn Rovers starlet Damien Duff as the best player he has played with at the club – and Sam Allardyce as his best boss.

Dunn has played alongside and worked under some of the biggest names in English football during an association with Rovers which stretches back more than 20 years but which will come to an emotional end today.

But, ahead of his last game for the club, at home to Ipswich Town this afternoon (12.15pm kick-off), he says two names above all stand out.

The first is Duff, the flying Republic of Ireland winger he grew up with in the club’s academy and who he starred alongside as Rovers roared their way back up from the old First Division and to Worthington Cup glory in their first season back in the Premier League.

And the second is Allardyce, the manager he once turned down to rejoin Rovers but under who he went on to enjoy one of the finest seasons of a playing career that he will continue away from Ewood Park once his contract runs out in the summer.

“There are various types of players who have been very good so it’s very difficult to choose one,” ponders Dunn, 35, who has scored 59 goals in 377 appearances for the club he has supported since he was a boy.

“But I’m an attacking player and a creative kind of player so I’m always going to opt for the more flair players – so that’s your Tugays, Damien Duffs and Matt Jansens.

“They’d probably be the three that stand out most to me in the time I’ve been here.

“But then of course you have to have your other players. I think Lucas Neill was a top full-back, in the early days I played with Tim Sherwood in the centre of midfield and then there was Garry Flitcroft.

“Although you have those flair players, you need to have those players who will do an unselfish job for the team and I would say Flitty was very similar to what Jason Lowe does for us now.

“Mark Atkins, Garry Flitcroft – although those type of players may not have got the same accolades that players like myself, Tugay, Duff and Jansen got, they were invaluable for the team.

“But if I was going to pick one player I would probably say Duff because of his final year here.

“He came back from the 2002 World Cup, where he was probably one of the best players, and he was literally untouchable.

“He deserved his move to Chelsea at the end of the season and he got Premier League winners’ medals and more.”

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Dunn was given his Rovers debut by current England manager Roy Hodgson, against Everton at Goodison Park in September 1998, but it was under Souness that he blossomed into one of the best young talents in the country, drawing comparisons with his hero, Paul Gascoigne.

The pair’s relationship soured, however, and in July 2003 Dunn moved to Birmingham City.

But the England international was brought back to Rovers by Mark Hughes in January 2007, only after, though, he made a U-turn on his decision to sign for Bolton Wanderers.

Allardyce, who was then in charge of Bolton, held no grudges after Dunn called him personally to explain his decision.

And the two eventually got to work together when Allardyce was appointed as Rovers’ manager in December 2008.

Dunn revelled under his new boss and in the 2009/10 campaign scored 10 goals in 28 games including two crucial strikes in the double derby victory over bitter rivals Burnley.

“Roy Hodgson gave me my debut and now he’s England manager so he definitely knew a player,” joked Dunn.

“My youth coaches, Rob Kelly, Bobby Downes, Alan Irvine and Jim Furnell, and all the people who were here when I went full time, they obviously brought things out of me, and Roy gave me my debut.

“But it was Graeme Souness who gave me so much confidence to really play.

“The lads used to say I was his blue-eyed boy so no matter what you read in the papers, that we had a big fall-out, it was never that.

“Probably looking back I was becoming more of a man and I had a bit more of an opinion and I wasn’t a young kid any more.

“But he really did push me on and I’ve got so much to thank him for because he did give me so much confidence to go out and become the player I wanted to be.

“Although, in the latter stages, he wanted me to be more like more like Roy Keane when I wanted to be like Gazza.

“Back then you played in a two and you were up and down.

“If he could have played me in a free role I think I could have really took the world on.

“So I went away until I was brought back by Sparky, who was brilliant.

“He was just totally different, with a really top work ethic, and I’m just grateful he gave me the chance to come back here.

“But my favourite was probably Sam. That may come as a surprise to people because Sam gets labelled with a certain style of football.

“With Sam he just wanted you to have a basic structure of your team but within that he wanted you to express yourself.

“That allowed me to score 10 in 28 games that year, something I thought was a great return.

“So Sam, in terms of man management and how he treated people, really was the best one.”

Dunn could soon follow Allardyce into management.

But, while he is well on with his coaching badges, he has no plans to hang up his boots and quit playing just yet.

“I’ve done my A Licence and B Licence, and I start my Pro Licence in the summer and then that will be me done,” said Dunn.

“Then the journey will begin on the other side but while I’m still able to run around and enjoy playing football, that’s what I still want to do.

“I think you’re a long time retired and I wouldn’t want to stop too soon.”