Former Blackburn Rovers player, Mark Atkins, was left unimpressed by his first impression of icon Alan Shearer.

Blackburn Rovers' title-winning hero will always be a renowned figure at Ewood Park but he left his team-mates scratching their heads in his first pre-season.

Shearer moved to Lancashire for £3.5million, a marquee signing by Jack Walker at the time. Atkins, though, did not feel he was worth the money judging by his first performance in a Rovers shirt.

In an interview with Under the Cosh, Atkins retold the story of when he first saw Shearer play. It's fair to say, he left plenty to be desired, though that opinion soon changed.

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"We went to play Hibs on one of the first days he was here [Blackburn], up in Scotland, and he played the first 45 minutes," Atkins said. "He was awful. 

"We were looking at each other thinking 'What the hell have we done here?' He was the worst trainer if we were doing physical work. He just couldn't get his head around running.

"I remember the first game of the season was Crystal Palace away. He scored two from outside the box. 

"He curled one in from about 30 yards and smashed another one in from about 25 yards. Straight into the top corner, both of them.

"And now we're thinking 'we've got a player here.' We know we've got a chance."