HONEST Joe Rothwell admitted the two weeks following January had been “tough for myself and my family” but felt he did not let up during his final months at Blackburn Rovers.

The 27-year-old was the subject of intense speculation over a move to Cherries during the January transfer window, with multiple bids reportedly turned down for the midfielder by the Ewood Park side.

Rovers opted to hold on to the former Manchester United youngster, as they looked to retain their own chances of going up to the Premier League.

That left Rothwell to play out the final six months of his contract, a period in which he insisted his focus was fully on Blackburn before eventually joining Scott Parker’s side on a free transfer last month.

Speaking to the Daily Echo about that period, since Cherries’ initial interest, Rothwell said: “Obviously it all started in the January window.

“It was quite close and things just couldn’t quite get agreed between the two clubs.

“The first couple of weeks after that was tough for myself and my family with the way it all broke out – it probably didn’t come out in the way I would have liked it to.

“There was a bit of backlash from the fans and stuff like that but that’s part and parcel of what it is. I just got my head down and I don’t feel like I let up.

“I finished out the last six months of the season. We (Rovers) were still playing for a lot ourselves and we were in a position where, for us, we wanted to get promoted as well.

“I wanted that as a player. I wanted to get promoted to the Premier League and, unfortunately, we just fell away.

“Obviously that interest was still there and thankfully, when the season finished, I spoke with the manager and he was saying they were still as keen as they were in January.

“Thankfully, it got over the line.”

Rothwell played 40 times in total for Rovers in the Championship last season, scoring three goals and providing 10 assists as they eventually finished eighth in the table.

Asked what it was like featuring for the club, when he knew his contract was coming to an end, Rothwell said: “It made it easier because we still had something to play for, so I think I kind of forgot about it all and the main focus was for us to try to get promoted.

“It might have been a bit different if we were just mid-table and the season was kind of just fading away.

“It made it a lot easier because we were second or third at the time - still right in there and I think we felt we had a really good chance of going up.

“So, it was easy, my focus was on that. It wasn’t too tough to concentrate on it.”