Connor O'Riordan is desperate to put last season's frustrations behind him and show his worth to Blackburn Rovers.

The young defender signed from Crewe Alexandra in January after being chased by Rovers for over six months.

However, first-team opportunities were difficult to come by. O'Riordan arrived towards the end of January which was then directly followed by a change of management.

In the heat of a relegation battle, John Eustace understandably opted for experience in the Championship. That meant the 22-year-old made only two substitute appearances from the bench which both came in February.

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Bar a few Under-21 outings, O'Riordan had to wait patiently. He admitted that was a frustrating period for him after playing regularly at Crewe.

"It was a very frustrating time for me last season because I didn't have much opportunity to play," he told RoversTV.

"It was difficult circumstances at the time so I understand why, even though I thought I should've played more than I did. 

"It was frustrating but now I have a chance in pre-season to impress the manager and staff to get myself in the team for the first game of the season.

"I was itching to get out there, I was desperate to get on. On the two occasions I came off the bench, I thought I held my own and I did as much as I could do. 

"After those games, I thought I'd get more opportunities but they didn't come. I can't think about that now, I'm looking to the future, focusing on my performances in training and pre-season.

"I want to be in the manager's thoughts for the first game of the season."

Despite the desire to play more regularly, O'Riordan acknowledged there was a big step up from League Two to the second tier.

A lack of match action hasn't hampered his development though, he feels. His focus now is to ensure he's in Eustace's thoughts come August with an impressive pre-season.

"I know it's a big step up coming from League Two to the Championship.

"I still think I have improved a lot as a player and a person from training with the standard of players here. Now I've spent that time, I think I'm comfortable and I'm up to the standard.

"I want to keep improving and learning from the people around me. I'm confident in my ability but every time you take a step up, it's harder.

"It's a new challenge for me in my career. You want to push yourself as hard as you can.

"It's a massive pre-season for me. I spoke to the staff and they said it would be a clean slate for everyone. 

"Every one of these games coming up is an opportunity to show the management team that I can take the information they're telling us and I'm ready. It's a chance to plant a seed in their mind.

"It's been really good, really enjoyable," he added on the first 10 days of pre-season.

"It's been good to be back in the building with the lads. It's been tough but that's what you expect from pre-season.

"I feel settled with the lads and around the building. Pre-season is a fresh start and I want to hit the ground running."