Jordan Rhodes plays down facing former club Blackburn in first Middlesbrough match

Middlesbrough's new £9m striker Jordan Rhodes has insisted that he will not be off his game when he faces former club Blackburn Rovers in his first match on Teesside.

Rhodes switched Championship clubs earlier this week on deadline day and ironically his first Boro match will be against Blackburn on Saturday.

"You're going to have to come against [Blackburn] at some point," Rhodes told reporters today. "It's just what it is.

"There's no two ways about it, it's just what it is. I'll have to prepare as I would for any other game."

At one point Boro said that the move for Rhodes was off before turning things around and getting the deal done in the final few hours before the transfer window shut.

The Scotland international admitted that he thought he was staying at Blackburn for the rest of the season. "I thought that was it," he added.

"I reported back to Blackburn and tried to get my head round being back there. Fortunately the deal managed to go through."

Rhodes has been one of the Championship's most prolific scorers in recent years, netting 84 goals the last three-and-a-half seasons.