Paul Ince is backing Blackburn goal hero Keith Andrews to finally make the grade at the age of 28 - after dismissing accusations he signed the midfielder as "an old pals' act".
Ince first became aware of Andrews' qualities during the latter days of his playing career at Wolves and then worked with him when manager of MK Dons last season.
He always felt Andrews had the quality to play at the highest level and had no hesitation in taking him to Ewood Park in a £1.3million deal in August.
And Andrews went some way to repaying that faith with a late equaliser during Saturday's 2-2 draw with West Brom at The Hawthorns.
Ince said: "I played with Keith at Wolves. He couldn't get in the side because I was playing but he is a fantastic player.
"He went through a bad time when he was 21, 22. I think he was misguided, misled. His attitude has always been spot on but he needed some guidance and I think, when I went to MK Dons, he got that.
"When I went there he was going to leave but I forced him to stay. By then he was really serious about his football and his talent is second to none for what we paid for him.
"It shows that you can go and buy quality players down the leagues. Keith is much better than that lower league anyway, hence why I brought him to Blackburn."
Ince added: "Some people tried to question it when I signed him for Blackburn. Some people were saying 'Is it an old pals' act?' after working with him before.
"It wasn't that. You've seen what a quality player he is. You saw that against Aston Villa in midweek when he was man of the match.
"Those midfield players who get forward and score goals, you don't get them 10 to a penny.
"He had a couple of chances against Villa, a couple of shots against West Brom and it was great for him to finally score because he was a fantastic player.
"He got 14 goals last season. I don't care what league it is, if you get 14 goals as a midfielder you've got a knack for doing that and he will score a lot more goals for Blackburn."
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