I’ll prove the good times are not Rover
Morris vows to recreate his Blackburn glory days at Well
Josh Morris got a crack at the big time as a kid at Blackburn Rovers.
A Premier League debut against Manchester United at Old Trafford was followed by a win over Liverpool with Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres in their ranks.
In the summer of 2011 he played for England at the Under- 20s World Cup in Colombia with the likes of Jack Butland and Saido Berahino.
At that point, Morris probably thought it would be glitz and glamour all the way.
But everyone knows football rarely works out like that.
After five years at Ewood Park, which included various lower league loans, he ended up at Bradford, Scunthorpe, Fleetwood and Salford.
At 30, he has now landed in Scottish football at Motherwell under his former gaf fer Graham Alexander.
And even though the heady days of the Premier League are behind him, he’d like one last go at making a name for himself at Fir Park, starting with progress in the Europa Conference League qualifiers.
Motherwel l trai l Irish minnows Sligo Rovers 1- 0 after a dire first-leg defeat at Fir Park last Thursday.
But Alexander’s men still fancy their chances of going through ahead of the return at The Showgrounds this week.
For Morris, playing on the European stage is a reminder of what might have been early in his career.
As he reflected on his time at Blackburn in England’s top flight, the attacker said: “When you are younger you tend to think that something like European football happens every season.
“You learn over time I guess. “My period at Blackburn was great. I was playing alongside the likes of Michel Salgado, Morten Gamst Pederson, David Dunn, Paul Robinson, Roque Santa Cruz.
“Salgado had played in the Champions League, he’d won it with Real Madrid.
“I could talk for hours about him. I just learned so much. You didn’t talk, you just watched what they were doing – how they trained, what they did to look after themselves.
“These guys were so dedicated and that’s why they were successful. They worked so hard.
“It was a great learning curve. I was only 18 or 19 so it was pretty surreal.
“One minute you are watching these guys play on TV, next you are alongside them in the team.
“I made my debut against United at Old Trafford.
“We were 5- 0 down when I came on! Dimitar Berbatov had scored five and we ended up losing 7- 1. But I got Berbatov’s jersey and my mum and dad still have it.
“Bi g Sam Allardyce was the Blackburn manager, he gave me my debut. Before that, I had made my debut against Hearts in a pre-season friendly.
“Then I played against Celtic at Parkhead that summer. “Sam was great. He showed faith in me and gave me a chance in the first team.
“I came on against United, played a week later – then the week after that he got sacked. “Of course, you sometimes think how it might have been had he stayed on. But in football you can’t look back, you have to look forward.”
The prospect of working under Alexander again – as well as a fresh challenge in Scotland – lured Morris to Fir Park.
His competitive debut for the club didn’t go to plan with that shock loss to Sligo.
But he’s convinced the Steelmen can turn the tie on its head and set up a clash with either Sparta Prague or Viking Stavanger.
Morris said: “I wanted to try something new and obviously I knew the manager well.
“I’ve worked with him three separate times and I’ve played
some of the best football of my career under him.
“Everyone you speak to about the club only has good things to say about Motherwell.
“I know Kevin van Veen from my time at Scunthorpe and he couldn’t speak highly enough of the place.
“It’s a fresh start, a new challenge and I have the chance to play in Europe.
“It’s only halfway in the tie and still all to play for.
“It’s up to us to go there and turn it around.
“We’ll have had another week of training under our belts and that will help.
“Match sharpness only comes from playing games.
“We need to go there, put on a performance and make sure we get through to the next round.”