Rovers earned a first promotion in 17 years, and return to the second tier, when Charlie Mulgrew netted the winner at Doncaster in April.

It was just to be a second-placed finish for Tony Mowbray’s side, as it was for Graeme Souness’ class of 2000/01 when they secured a return to the Premier League after a two-year absence.

Stig Inge Bjornebye was part of that squad having made the switch from Liverpool and secured a reunion with Souness.

While Mowbray brought in several players who he had previously worked with last summer to try and achieve his promotion aim, Souness did something similar with the Norwegian full-back.

The pair had worked together during their time at Liverpool, with Bjornebye moving to Ewood Park following discussions with his former boss while out on loan.

And he admits the Scot was a key reason behind his switch to East Lancashire, as well as the promotion they achieved.

“The chance to play under Souness again was a key factor and there was a good blend to the squad,” Bjornebye told the Lancashire Telegraph.

“I was at Brondby on loan from Liverpool and had played under him at Liverpool.

“Souness showed his interest in me and he came to watch me in a couple of games.

“I spoke to him during a dinner after one of the games and he said that he wanted to take me to Blackburn. He had the aim of winning promotion and wanted me to be part of that.”

Bjornebye featured 32 times in the promotion winning campaign and was one of a number of experienced campaigners in the squad.

The likes of Alan Kelly and Craig Short provided that, mixed in with the exciting, emerging talents of Matt Jansen, David Dunn and Damien Duff.

“We had a good squad and we were quite confident that we would fight for promotion,” said Bjornebye, now Director of Football at Rosenborg in his native Norway.

“Souness put together an interesting team.

“You had some young players like Damien Duff, Matt Jansen, David Dunn, and together with the likes of Craig Short and Alan Kelly, they were very important in terms of not just on the pitch but in the dressing room as well.

“The young lads needed that experience around them and there was that good blend.

“We had a strong team and a strong squad, players that blended well together.

“Matt Jansen had a great season, scored a lot of goals and it was a lively bunch in the dressing room as well.”

Rovers secured promotion in their penultimate fixture at Preston, with their haul of 91 points good enough for second place behind Fulham.

With a number of experienced campaigners, and some quality additions, the full-back said there was a confidence that they would be able to secure a Premier League return after a below-par showing in 1999/2000.

But as Bjornabye said: “The confidence was there but you can never be certain of anything.

“It is a hell of a league to get out of, as you can see now with the big teams that are in the Championship.

“Although the season was a real rollercoaster, we always had the confidence that we would be able to do it, particularly towards the end of the season.”

Bjornebye is best remembered for his eight years with Liverpool, the first two of which came under Souness, who signed him from Rosenborg.

At 30 he joined Rovers and said: “Souness, I knew him from before and he had his own way of doing things.

“He was a strong character. You knew that you needed to be professional and loyal, don’t cause trouble and then he will back you 100 per cent.

“He was quite a character as you can imagine from what he was like as a player.

“He had a way of leading the team and if you opposed that you would find yourself in trouble but he was great to work for.”

In all Bjornebye made 67 appearances for Rovers, which included being part of the Worthington Cup winning squad of 2002.

That doesn’t come close to the 184 he made for the Anfield club, but looking back, he feels it was a spell which lasted possibly up to two years too much.

After ending his career at Rovers though, he admits he only has good memories from his time at Ewood.

“I was at Liverpool for quite a long time, maybe I stayed too long,” he said.

“I worked under three different managers and a lot of changes. When Gerard Houllier came in, a lot changed.

“I probably played my best football under Roy Evans and then after him Houllier made a lot of changes, which were highly appropriate and much needed, but they were quite dramatic and saw a lot of changes with players.

“It was probably time for me to leave a year or two before I did and it maybe took me too long to move.

“I decided to make the move to Blackburn and it worked out well - I only have great memories.”