Allrdayce welcomes Dunn return

Dunn marked his first appearance of the season with a goal as Rovers overcame Gillingham in the Carling Cup second round last night. The once-capped England international, 29, was impressive in the heart of midfield until being withdrawn just before the hour-mark and Allardyce is hoping he can play a big part throughout the campaign. "We shoved him in a position where he didn't have to work out of possession so much because he's just come back from injury," he said. "We put him in the hole to get him on the ball and just use his natural ability to create. "It is good to have him back and hopefully he can stay fit now. He was moaning about being taken off as usual but we've got to protect him, it is the first 60 minutes he's had in a long time. "He's getting to the veteran stage of his career now. He's not quite 30 but because of the number of injuries that he's had he's had to change his whole outlook on life. "It is all about rehabilitation and prevention rather than training as much as he used to and keeping him fit for selection on a Saturday." Dunn fired home Rovers' opener in the sixth minute and Allardyce admits the Ewood Park outfit have missed his quality. He added: "If we'd had a few more players over the last two games showing that quality of finishing then we'd have been going into the West Ham game with maybe three or four points rather than none. "He showed the quality of finishing that we are looking for and also the quality of passing and final ball. "We'll reconvene on Thursday now and start building to what is hopefully three points on Saturday against West Ham." Gillingham midfielder Danny Jackman had a more eventful day than most at Priestfield. The 26-year-old arrived back for a second spell with the Kent club late yesterday afternoon and then dashed from Northampton to take his spot on the bench. He arrived on the pitch 10 minutes before kick-off to meet his new manager and team-mates as they finished their warm-up and then came on to a standing ovation 25 minutes from time. He said: "It's great to be back, although it was a bit of a rush to get here. "As soon as I found out the club were interested, there was only one place that I wanted to come back to. "That is the first piece of ball work that I have done for four weeks, so it was quite hard going for me. "Blackburn are quality opposition and you have periods when you don't see the ball for a while but it was nice to get a touch on the ball every now and then."

Source: Team_Talk