DEPARTING Blackburn Rovers hero David Dunn is open minded about where his career will take him next – but he admits he would love to play for Accrington Stanley before hanging up his boots.

Dunn will bid an ‘emotional’ farewell to his beloved Rovers on Saturday when he plays for the club for the final time.

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The former England international will be out of contract in the summer and, having decided to make his 14th season at Ewood Park his last, he will soon begin the search for a new club.

The 35-year-old from Great Harwood has not ruled out a move abroad – but there is a club closer to home, second only to Rovers in his heart, that he has his sights on.

“I’m going to be pretty open-minded about offers,” said former England international Dunn, who is a regular at League Two Stanley’s matches.

“I’ve had little chats with different people and discussed various opportunities but I’ll get away, spend some quality time with my family, and have a think.

“Abroad is certainly something that appeals to me and, while I’m not quite sure where yet, there have been preliminary talks about different things, so you never know.

“But one thing I certainly would like to do at some point, whether it’s sooner or later, is play for a club down the road I’m quite fond of.

“And not just play for Stanley, but try and help them out too. I know people there very well and it’s a good little club I feel a lot for.”

But for now Dunn is focusing his thoughts firmly on what will be his 378th and final appearance in the famous blue and white halved shirt.

The midfielder is hoping to make his first league start of the season in Rovers’ final game of the campaign at home to Ipswich Town on Saturday.

“I’ve been involved with this club for the majority of my life, all my childhood and most of my adulthood too,” said father-of-four Dunn, who will be cheered on against Ipswich by his family, including his biggest inspiration, his granddad David.

“So while it’s going to be emotional, I won’t find it sad because I’m very content with what I’ve done.

“Hopefully it will be my first league start of the year and, fingers crossed, I will do myself justice.

“I just love playing football and that’s why I’ve come to the decision I have.

“I could have sat around and been happy picking up a salary but I want to be somewhere I can affect what’s going on the pitch and know that I’ll train hard all week and have a reward at the end of it.

“That hasn’t quite panned out the way I saw it at the start of the year but it’s not the time to be negative about it, everything happens for a reason, and I’m very happy with how things have gone at Blackburn.”

Dunn was at his brilliant best on his last start for Rovers – the 2-1 FA Cup victory over Charlton Athletic on January 3 – and he revealed his performance at the Valley helped convince him to carry on playing and put a move into coaching on hold.

“Sometimes you do doubt yourself and I’ve been to see the manager numerous times to see what I could do to get into the team,” said Dunn, who will start his Pro Licence in the summer.

“So when I got the chance at Charlton I loved every minute of it. I felt fresh and really sharp and, if I was thinking about knocking it on the head, after that game I was sure I wanted to carry on playing.”