BRYAN Douglas today paid tribute to former Blackburn Rovers favourite Eddie Crossan, who died earlier this week at the age of 80.

Eddie, from Londonderry in Northern Ireland, made more than 300 appearances for Rovers in a 10-year period after the Second World War.

The likeable Irishman was a popular figure on and off the pitch at Blackburn, and Douglas looked upon him as a mentor during their time together at Rovers in the 1950s.

"Eddie was one of my mentors," said Douglas.

"When I joined the club as a member of the ground staff, Eddie was a regular in the first team and an Irish international so he was one of the people I looked up to.

"He was a lovely guy and a typical Irishman.

"He was a quiet guy but a very good footballer who gave Blackburn Rovers great service. It's very sad to hear he's passed away."

Capped three times for his country, Eddie made his debut for Blackburn on January 31, 1948, in a 4-3 victory over Sunderland at Ewood Park, and he scored the first of his 74 goals in the very next game away at Grimsby.

Renowned for his brilliant close control and mesmeric dribbling ability, Eddie enjoyed possibly his finest ever season in Rovers' colours in 1954/55, scoring 18 of the 114 goals netted by the team during that campaign.

He also bagged the opener in the 8-3 home win against Bristol Rovers in February that season, when Tommy Briggs netted the other seven, and he hit a brace in Rovers' biggest ever Ewood victory (9-0) against Middlesbrough on 6 November 1954.

A father-of-nine, Eddie died peacefully in hospital on Tuesday after battling with illness.