Ollie's 10 in 10 Diary: I'm showering Blackburn Rovers with kisses
Monday 14 December 2015 17:06, UK
Let’s do the time warp - that’s what the journey from Sheffield to Blackburn felt like.
We got into our little living area on the back of the bus, wacked on the film Hot Fuzz - you know, 'the greater good' - and within two hours we were in Blackburn Rovers' car park right outside the Jack Walker stand. It was like getting zapped there. The windows are blacked out for all the superstar rockstars they've had on here, so we can't see anything. It's the closest thing to being in Star Trek!
Once we touched down last night in Blackburn we headed into town to grab some food and meet some of the locals. We walked into this wonderfully homely pub and guess what was on the TV? Football League goals! I just can't get away from 10 in 10!
FL72 Live
It was great though to go and have food in a communal pub with Mick and Larry the drivers - who are great blokes. It can get a bit isolated when we're on the bus. The Sky Sports riggers were there too - it was a great atmosphere.
We then had a live interview to do with Sky Sports News HQ on the bus at 10 o'clock, through Skype, which was beamed to millions watching via... a camera phone! Modern technology is amazing.
I was worried at one point though as Lewis, our digital media man, has a bit of a brick for a phone and he was struggling to hold the position. His arms were trembling half way through the interview - his guns were letting him down! He nearly collapsed after the interview had finished.
It was then time for bed and it was probably the best sleep I've had in my cave. But the best was yet to come… Blackburn Rovers let us use their stadium facilities to shower! I've got to say thank you to them and Irene who works at the club. I lived in Burnley for five years and boy they don't like Blackburn. But, I've taken off my Burnley-tinted glasses and these Blackburnians are wonderful people!
Goodnight Irene is Bristol Rovers' club song - it's a special song - but in this case it was Good morning Irene. We used the referee's changing room to shower and it was heaven on Earth. The best shower of my life - hands down. It was like being in the womb. So homely. So comfy. I just leaned my head back and it was paradise.
I'm now going to switch off for a couple of hours before the game tonight between Rovers and Nottingham Forest.
I was interested to read Blackburn manager Paul Lambert's comments that he felt his players were accepting mediocrity when he walked through the door - playing a bit of a blame-game due to the transfer embargo.
He's changing their mentality. He's got them looking up the table rather than down. It's all about mind-set. I can vouch for that when I was Blackpool. When I took over everyone was happy with finishing 16th but I got them believing they were good enough to finish in the top-six and we did it.
I'm looking forward to seeing whether the Rovers players can put Lambert's belief into action this evening.
Watch Blackburn v Nottingham Forest live on Sky Sports 2 HD from 7.30 on Monday.
