ROVERS chairman John Williams has lavished praise on former defender Stephane Henchoz after the Swiss international called time on his playing career.

The 34-year-old, who made a total of 82 appearances in two spells at Ewood Park, was released by Rovers at the end of last season and revealed last night that he was retiring to concentrate on a career in coaching.

Henchoz arrived at Rovers from German Bundesliga side Hamburg for £3million in 1997 and became a fixture in Roy Hodgson’s defence.

But the Swiss international sought pastures new when Rovers were relegated in 1999 and made a £3.5m move to Liverpool.

But Williams had nothing but praise for the centre half.

He said: “He was very professional in two stints with us, of course.

“I remember Stephane when he first joined us as a young man from Switzerland. It was Roy Hodgson’s first signing, he came to us with Martin Dahlin.

“It was a real baptism of fire for him in the Premier League, but he stood up to the test.

“Eventually, when we got relegated, it reached a point for Stephane where he needed to move on and he had plenty of success with Liverpool.

“Mark Hughes brought him back, under different requirements and different times.

“He was a great lad to have around - he always gave 100 per cent and we wish him all the best for the future.”

Former Rovers striker and Telegraph columnist Kevin Gallacher, who played alongside Henchoz, added: “He got a great move to Blackburn from Hamburg and it was his platform for a great career in England.

“He was a very quiet man who let his football do the talking. I got on really well with Stephane.

“I think his grounding in the German game gave him a good grounding for his move to the Premier League. People said he was slow but he was anything but.

“He read the game so well and that was his major strength.”

Henchoz, who began his career in 1992 with Neuchatel Xamax, represented Switzerland on 72 occasions and enjoyed a successful period with Liverpool, where he won the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup, going on to make 205 appearances for the Reds.

Spells with Celtic and Wigan followed before he made a return to Blackburn, his final club.