LORENZO Amoruso today insisted he has no regrets about joining Blackburn Rovers - even though he's just been freed by the club after three turbulent years.

The injury-plagued Italian was told some time ago that he wouldn't be getting a new deal at Blackburn, mainly because manager Mark Hughes had grave concerns about his poor fitness record.

But, while the 34-year-old admits he's disappointed Rovers fans never got to see him perform at his best, he's adamant he did make the right decision in choosing to quit Rangers for Blackburn in the summer of 2003.

"I thought I made the right choice when I came here. Definitely," said Amoruso, speaking to the Evening Telegraph from his home in Italy.

"Obviously, I would have liked to have played a bit more; that would have been fantastic for me.

"But I'm just sorry for the fans most of all because they didn't get to see the real Lorenzo Amoruso.

"They always got behind me during my time with the club and I'm just sorry I didn't get the chance to repay them for that support."

Signed by Graeme Souness in a deal worth £1.5 million, Amoruso announced his arrival at Ewood in spectacular fashion, scoring a goal on his debut as Rovers romped to a 5-1 win against Wolves.

However, that early season optimism soon evaporated as Rovers began to struggle in the league, and Amoruso was left to carry the can for some poor defensive performances which led to the club becoming embroiled in a relegation fight.

The nadir was arguably Rovers' UEFA Cup exit at the hands of Genclerbirligi, after which Amoruso picked up the first in a series of knee injuries that kept him sidelined until the following March.

When he finally returned to full fitness, the Italian went on to play a key role in keeping the club in the Premiership, scoring a vital goal in a 4-3 win at Fulham.

But more injuries, and a change of manager, then wrecked his chances of becoming a permanent fixture in the team the following season, so much so that he made just five appearances in 18 months under Hughes, the last of which came in a 4-0 home defeat to Middlesbrough in October 2004.

While Amoruso reckons Hughes didn't give him a proper chance to prove himself, the reality is a succession of injuries ultimately wrecked any hopes he had of forcing his way back into the manager's thinking.

"People think that a player is happy because he still gets paid even when he's injured," said Amoruso, who started just 19 games for Rovers in three years.

"But that wasn't the case with me because I like to be sharp, I love playing, I love this job, and I like to fight until the last breath in my body. I've always been like that in my career.

"The manager always used to say me injuries, injuries, injuries. You need to train. You need to do this, you need to do that.' But he never gave me a chance.

"It's been a strange three years because I never got used to being part of the team.

"But what can you do? The manager picks the team and he makes his own choices.

"I'm happy for Blackburn because they've qualified for the UEFA Cup and they can be at the top level again.

"Even though I've not been involved, I'm still happy about their achievement."

As for the future, Amoruso reckons he can play on for another three years at the top level, and, ideally, he would like to join another Premiership club or finish his career in Italy.

He added: "I think I'll be able to play on for another three years at the top level so we'll see what the situation is."