Accy old boy says thanks

The 24-year-old sharpshooter almost single-handedly fired the Seasiders back into Division Two after hitting the back of the net a magnificent 26 times during a goal-den campaign -- including the all important fourth goal in Saturday's play-off final victory over Leyton Orient.

But the Great Harwood-born hot-shot is quick to point out the part Stanley have played in his remarkable rise from the Ashes after he almost quit the game altogether following the bombshell of being released by Blackburn in the mid-90s.

"When I left Blackburn, football seemed to take a bit of a back seat in my life," said Ormerod.

"I'd lost interest a bit after getting released by Rovers because, if you don't get fixed up quickly with another club, you can soon become disillusioned.

"That happened to a lot of my mates and it could have happened to me but I went down to Stanley, met a great bunch of lads, saw it was a nice little club, and I started enjoying my football again.

"And, once you're enjoying yourself, your confidence starts to come back as well, and I never really looked back again after that."

Stanley officials have taken great pride in watching Ormerod's career flourish under Steve McMahon since his £50,000 move to Bloomfield Road.

And commercial director John DeMaine insists the speedy striker's attitude to the game should be used as a lesson to anyone bombed out by a professional club.

"When Brett came down here never once did he have a negative attitude," said DeMaine.

"He'd just been released by Blackburn after suffering from a couple of injury setbacks but he wasn't the type to feel sorry for himself.

"He was so positive, it was unbelievable, and we're absolutely delighted with what he's gone on to achieve.

"He's a lesson to everyone because of the way he's bounced back.

"He obviously looks after himself and he's very professional but, not only that, he's a great person as well, which is important.

"So, if there's a message to come out of this, then it's there is a way back if you get released by a professional club.

"We play at a decent level, we're a good, friendly club, and we want to go places as well, so they might as well do it with us rather than not do it at all."

Now Ormerod is dreaming of re-establishing himself as a leading light in the Second Division next term.

But he's just grateful to be playing at all after fearing his career could have been over altogether following an incident against Wycombe in October, 2000 which left him with a double fracture of the leg.

"I'd be lying if I said that never crossed my mind," said Ormerod.

"One minute I was in the side scoring goals, the next I was sat on the sofa in my front room with a massive pot on my leg.

"But I'm lucky I managed to get back.

"There was one apprentice at the club who suffered a similar break to me and he's had to retire from the game so that could easily have been me.

"But, thankfully, it wasn't and I can now look forward to playing in Division Two again next season.

"It's only just starting to sink in exactly what we've achieved.

"To score on Saturday was nice but to win was the main thing and, once that fourth goal went in, we all knew we'd done it.

"I've never experienced an atmosphere like that before, it was frightening.

"There were 15,000 Blackpool fans going mental and they were absolutely magnificent.

"These are really exciting times for everyone connected with the club at the minute.

"We're currently having a new stadium built and there's a buzz about the place now we're back in the Second Division.

"Only time will tell how we'll do next season.

"We came down last season but with the players we've now got, hopefully, we'll do a lot better this time around."

Should Ormerod's goalscoring exploits ever secure him a big money move in the future, then Stanley stand to cash in again having negotiated a 20 per cent sell-on clause as part of the initial transfer.

But, for the time being at least, the future's bright, the future's tangerine.