Town forward happy to feel 'wanted' after 'stressful' deadline day move to Blackburn

Striker Cauley Woodrow is happy to feel ‘wanted' once more after what he described as a fairly ‘stressful’ deadline day move to Blackburn Rovers last Monday.

The 30-year-old forward had found it tough to break into the first team at Kenilworth Road this season, with one start in the league and a further 14 appearances from the bench leading to just 258 minutes in total. Named in the squad for the first three games of new manager Matt Bloomfield’s reign, coming on against Preston and Oxford, Woodrow was then left out of the trip to Sheffield Wednesday, with transfer interest given as the reason behind his absence.

Having been linked with League One Wrexham, it turned out that Ewood Park was his eventual destination, the former Barnsley and Fulham forward heading to a Rovers side who are sixth in the table, and in with a real shout of making the play-offs this term. Speaking to RoversTV about his arrival the one-time Premier League champions, the attacker said: “It was all a bit stressful to be honest, but I managed to get in the car, get up here in time and get it all signed and sealed, so I am really happy to be here.

"I have had a bit of a busy January with a few different things going on, but when I heard the interest then I really wanted to take the opportunity to come here as Blackburn are flying, doing really well, so I wanted to come on board and help the promotion chase. My football has probably been a little bit limited at Luton for one reason or another, and I think for any player it is just important to feel wanted and to play football. It has been difficult as last season we were in the Premier League and doing really well. This year it has been tough for Luton as a football club and tough for me as a player. Hopefully, I can get some minutes in, get some goals and help Blackburn.”

Woodrow got his first taste of life in Lancashire at the weekend as he started on the bench for the 2-0 FA Cup fourth round loss to top flight outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers, coming on for the final 25 minutes. Ahead of the move, he was eager to get some advice from some current and former team-mates about making the switch, as he continued: “Blackburn is a massive football club and I know Callum Brittain, he has obviously spoken really highly of the club.

“I also spoke to Thomas Kaminski and he said to me without a doubt to come here. He spoke really highly of the football club and I know he was obviously really liked here, so he’s definitely someone that I wanted to listen to and take some advice from.”

With Woodrow having played 216 times in the second tier, scoring 44 goals, then he’s looking to take that form to his new surroundings, adding: “I am really hungry still. I have played a lot of games in this division and scored a lot of goals, so with game time and with opportunities, I am sure I can do that again. As a player, I thrive on scoring goals. I have played most of my career in the Championship so I know this division, I know how tough it is.

“Obviously, my goal is to help the team and to score goals, but ultimately it is about the football club doing well. I'm here now, I am a Blackburn player until the end of the season and I am going to do all I can to help this football club achieve what it wants to achieve. I have been promoted to the Premier League with Luton and know how good it is when you are in a winning team, the feeling around the place. I can already feel the positivity and it is just amazing when everything is going well and the club is striving for something. There is no better place to be when that is happening.”