David Bentley reflects on Blackburn Rovers spell and shares thoughts on John Eustace's side | OneFootball

David Bentley has been speaking exclusively to FLW

Former Blackburn Rovers star David Bentley looks back on his Ewood Park spell as "definitely one of the best times of my career".

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, via William Hill, the 40-year-old reflected on his time at Rovers and shared his thoughts on how John Eustace's side may fare this season.

Bentley's move to Blackburn proved a pivotal moment in his career and he'd go on to make nearly 150 appearances for the Lancashire club – scoring 21 times and providing 22 assists.

No point to prove to Arsenal after Blackburn Rovers move

The technical wide player came through the Arsenal academy and was highly-rated, representing England regularly at age-group level, but would leave permanently in January 2006.

Bentley had impressed on loan at Ewood Park in the first half of the 2005/06 campaign and joined on a permanent deal in the winter window.

He made the move in search of regular football but has made it clear that he didn't feel he had a point to prove to the Gunners.

"No, I just needed to play more football," Bentley said. "Playing week in, week out was where I was at my best and this showed as I had a good time at Blackburn.

"The environment was good for me, the team was good, we had Morgan Gamst Pederson on one wing, me on the other, Santa Cruz and Benny McCarthy up top, and Tugay and Robbie Savage in the middle.

"We had a good work ethic in the team and this showed as we were challenging at the top. My football was good at Blackburn and with Mark Hughes, it was a good personal fit, and I enjoyed my time at Blackburn."

Man United hat-trick a career highlight

Bentley would eventually earn a big-money transfer to Tottenham but still looks back very fondly on his time with Rovers – with a hat-trick in a 4-3 win against Manchester United a career highlight.

"It was definitely one of the best times in my career," he said. "Both on and off the pitch, this was a good time for me at Blackburn.

"Scoring a hat-trick against Manchester United was one of the best moments of my career, so this ties into me playing the best football of my career at Blackburn.

"Having a good environment to play is key and at Blackburn I had this, so I saw myself playing all the time and you get good momentum."

Blackburn Rovers need strong squad culture to sustain impressive start

Rovers were a Premier League team when Bentley was there but have since become a regular fixture in the Championship.

They narrowly avoided relegation last term, with the arrival of Eustace helping them steer clear of the drop.

Blackburn have surprised many with their strong start to 2024/25 and Bentley believes the culture the manager has built will be vital if they're to continue to defy the odds.

Quizzed on whether his former club can sustain their strong start, he said: "It will be a tough task as other clubs have spent a lot of money and the relegated clubs from the Premier League have had money to spend on players.

"Those looking to really challenge have been busy as well, so for the likes of Blackburn who sold their top striker, it becomes more difficult.

"But, once you build a winning culture, this can help the good results continue as you have a never-say-die attitude and keep picking up points."