Good things come to those who wait.
And Paul Dickov says he has hit the jackpot after staying patient over the blockbuster signing of Billy Sharp.
Rovers last night secured a return for the fan favourite on loan from Southampton for the rest of the season.
And Dickov admitted he was ‘buzzing’ over completing the deal.
“Ideally we wanted to have someone in two or three weeks ago but we were determined to wait for the right player and we’ve done that,” he told the Star.
“We got encouraging signs on the deal a few weeks ago and to be honest I’ve been pestering Southampton ever since.
“To be fair to Billy, he’s been pestering them about it as well.
“I’m absolutely buzzing that we’ve managed to get this done.”
Sharp yesterday confirmed his return to Rovers just a few days shy of the two year anniversary of his £1.8m switch to Southampton.
He came close to returning to Rovers last summer after agreeing to a deal which was subject to the completion of the proposed takeover by Sequential Capital.
But Dickov finally got his man and was full of praise for Sharp for his eagerness to return to Rovers for a third spell.
He said: “Billy has sown massive desire to come back here.
“As you would imagine with a player of that quality there were a lot of big clubs in for Billy.
“He wants to get back playing and back scoring goals and he wants to do that with us.
“The fans absolutely love him and he loves them right back.
“It goes without saying that he ticks all the boxes for all the right reasons both as a player and a character.”
Dickov also praised the Rovers board for green-lighting the move for the 27-year-old.
He is now more convinced than ever that Rovers will survive in the Championship this term following the arrivals of Sharp, Gabriel Tamas and Abdoulaye Meite.
He said: “The board have been fantastic with me in this window and I send all my thanks to them.
“The deal for Billy, along with the new contract for Richie Wellens plus getting in Gabby Tamas and Abdou Meite - they are four players who add a massive amount of quality to the squad.
“I’ve always thought we were good enough for the Championship and the business we’ve been able to so this month has only strengthened that.”
Sharp looks set to make his Rovers re-debut at Blackpool on Saturday.
Since moving to Southampton, Sharp has been sent out on loan to Nottingham Forest and Reading, where he spent the last three months of 2013.