Bolton Wanderers captain Kevin Davies bears no grudge towards Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson.

Davies, who won an England cap against Montenegro this month, can look back at those dark days at Blackburn Rovers and smile.

"It made me the man and player I am today" he said. "And I am delighted how it turned out for Roy. I am thrilled he got the Liverpool job. He must be very proud.

"There are no grudges on my part. It wasn't the best period of my career but it's not something I dwell on or look back on. It just didn't work out.

"It was a bad time for me and Roy got sacked. There wasn't a great spirit among the players, there were things that weren't right and I wasn't happy there which showed on the pitch.

"I didn't really get much chance to play for Roy. I was surprised he signed me in the first place - I had only been at Southampton for a season and was injured for the second half of it.

"And if I had known what it would be like I would never have moved. I was only 22 and just wanted to play football. It was a frustrating time.

"But Roy was a top bloke, he is a nice fella, everybody knows that. His coaching was hands-on and very good. He is very passionate about that and was brilliant to work for."