Olympiakos striker Matt Derbyshire has hit out at his former Blackburn Rovers boss Sam Allardyce.

"I wasn't getting a look-in," he told the Guardian. "Mark Hughes had been great, Paul Ince had been OK but under Sam Allardyce I got no respect at all. I know I was a young player but he treated me like someone who had never given anything to the club. I just wasn't involved. At my age I have to play to get better, so I asked my agent if he could get me a move. About a month later he came back and said, 'Olympiakos are very interested.'"

Many young players would protest at the prospect of being wrenched from the gilded teat of the Premier League but Derbyshire embraced what he considered an ideal chance to develop.

"I saw this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience a different type of football.

"The Greek league is not as fast as the Premier League but it's very technical and I think I've already improved. I've also got the chance to play in the Champions League, something I know for a fact I would never have been able to do at Blackburn, unfortunately."