Michel Salgado was delighted to make a winning debut with Blackburn Rovers against Wolves.

The ex-Real Madrid fullback grinned: "I'm 33 - nearly 34 - but I felt like a kid again out there.

"To finally play in one of the best leagues in the world was a really big day for me. It was a great moment in my career."

Few would have blamed Salgado if he had dug out the pipe and slippers after leaving Real last month.

But, instead, he accepted a fresh challenge in East Lancashire and is determined to drive Rovers on to greater things.

He said: "We'll try to make this season better than the last one. If we have a perfect season, maybe we could be fighting for Europe.

"There's a big difference between the top six and the rest. But there's no reason why we can't fight for seventh place."

One similarity he may find between life at Rovers and Real could be the battle to win a regular place in the back four.

Yet Salgado said: "Of course, I expected to have to battle for my place. The competition is high here. At Real there's more competition but it's great. Here, you have to be fit and always at 100 per cent.

"There's very good quality in the squad here and I have no doubt we can be a great team."