Simon Garner was dubbed the Lincolnshire Poacher during a 14-year Blackburn career that brought him 192 goals in 565 games.

And the Boston-born striker was still big news after leaving Ewood Park in 1992, helping West Brom and Wycombe clinch promotion through the play-offs.

But now the poacher is turning gamekeeper and instead of making the headlines, he aims to be writing them.

For Garner is training to be a journalist and hopes to gain the National Council for the Training of Journalism's Proficiency Certificate this summer.

"For a few years, I've covered Rovers' games for Radio Lancashire when they've played in the south," explains Berkshire-based Garner, 47, voted Blackburn's best player of all time by Ewood Park fans.

"But I decided that if I was going to move on, I should try to learn what the job is really about and gain a proper qualification.

"I was never an academic as a kid, I just wanted to be a footballer. So going back to school' twice a week has been a bit of a culture shock - particularly trying to learn shorthand! But hopefully I'll make it.

"Like most players, I used to be a bit critical of journalists because they'd never played football for a living.

"But now I've seen it from the other side of the fence, I realise what a difficult job they have and it isn't something you can just walk into without proper training."

It was the second goal in his hat-trick against Manchester City on April 15, 1989, that secured Garner's place among the legends of Blackburn Rovers - for it was then that he had scored more goals in the Football League than any other player in the history of the club.

Howard Kendall, who had ironically tried to sell Garner to Halifax for £40,000, was the man who gave him his chance as a centre-forward at Ewood Park.

And he went on to flourish under Bobby Saxton, with his pace and power proving a huge handful for defenders.

Now he is hoping his shorthand can be of a similar pace as he prepares to tackle the very best of the footballing world again - this time from the press box though.

However, a journalism exam has not been the only tough test on the horizon for Garner, who has just returned from the Far East after taking part in the 2007 PFA Borneo Challenge.