BLACKBURN Rovers boss Paul Lambert reckons Jordan Rhodes’ drawn-out transfer to tomorrow’s opponents Middlesbrough was the best outcome for everybody.

And Rhodes insists he will prepare for his Boro bow against the club he has just left like he would any other match.

The prolific striker completed his big-money move to Middlesbrough on transfer deadline day after a dramatic weekend in which it had appeared to have fallen through.

So much so that Rhodes had return to Rovers’ Brockhall training base on Monday morning.

But, after being told to go home by Lambert in case of fresh developments, he eventually completed a complete switch which could land Rovers more than £11m.

“The way it was panning out Jordan was probably in a no-win situation,” said Lambert.

“If it fell through he was coming back to a club that he wanted to leave, which was not great.

“So it was better for everybody that it happened. It’s better for the football club because we got good money for him, and it’s better all-round as the club has to move on.”

Asked how he dealt with Rhodes following his return to training, Lambert said: “I was pretty at ease with it. I think it was Jordan who was under the scrutiny of it. I was fine with it.

“He’s a really nice lad who did great for this club. You’ve got to move on and he wanted to go.”

After pulling out of the Rovers squad which had travelled to Oxford for their FA Cup fourth-round tie, in order to make his way up to Boro’s Rockliffe Park training complex, Rhodes admitted he thought the deal was dead when his new club announced they had pulled the plug.

“I thought that was it,” said the 26-year-old, who scored 85 goals in 169 games for Rovers following his club record £8m move from Huddersfield Town in August 2012.

“I reported back to Blackburn and tried to get my head round being back there. Fortunately the deal managed to go through.

“When I went from Huddersfield to Blackburn it wasn’t as topsy turvy but this is just the way things go.

“But deadline day (itself) was quite smooth really. I was in at Blackburn and the manager said, ‘get yourself home and if something does happen, it does, if not, you come back tomorrow focused’.

“I got myself home and sorted. The bags were packed in the car just in case. It was relatively stress free.”

Rhodes is now in line to make his Boro debut against Rovers at the Riverside Stadium tomorrow.

“You’re going to have to come up against them at some point,” said Rhodes, who is celebrating his birthday. “It’s just what it is.

“There’s no two ways about it, it’s just what it is. I’ll have to prepare as I would for any other game.”

Asked if he think Rhodes would start, Lambert said: “I don’t know if he’ll be playing, I really don’t.

“They’ve got the tried and trusted up there at the minute and whether they stick with the strike-force that’s got them in the position they’re in, or whether Jordan goes right in from the beginning, I don’t know.”