MATT Jansen confessed today that, if he fails to revive his career at the Reebok, he could hang up his boots for good.

"This may be my last chance to try to rediscover what I had before," said the 28-year-old former Blackburn striker, who suffered serious injuries in a motorcycle accident in Rome when he was on the threshold of England honours.

"The last two or three years have been very difficult for me. I've been in a rut but I'm hoping that coming to Bolton, where Sam has a habit of turning players around who have lost their way, will help me get back to where I was before the accident."

Jansen, who joined Blackburn from Crystal Palace for £4.1 million in 1999 and was rated at £10 million when he just missed out on the World Cup squad in the summer of 2002, joined Wanderers last Friday, two days after being released by Rovers. Twenty-four hours later, he made his debut for the Whites as substitute in an emotional return to Ewood Park.

Carlisle-born Jansen, who turned to a psychiatrist to help him overcome the trauma of the accident in July, 2002, that turned his life upside down, describes the last three years as "a nightmare", during which time he has repeatedly considered quitting football.

"The doctor said I wouldn't be able to play for 12 months," he said. "Seven months to the day, I played my first game at Aston Villa and scored two goals and was man of the match.

"I was then left out of the side for six weeks before I played another game, then I was left out again.

"So I was questioning myself: What was wrong with me; am I still suffering from the accident?

"I felt I was doing OK but then a whole new chapter opened, of psychological baggage, and I started doubting myself, doubting my ability, so I went to see a sports psychologist.

"But it wasn't a sports psychologist I needed, it was a psychiatrist, a clinical psychiatrist, because it was a brain problem as opposed to a physical problem.

"He helped me along and I feel now that everything has been addressed, and although it's taken a hell of a long time, I can hopefully rediscover my form. I feel now that I just need a run of games, and hopefully I will get that at Bolton."

Jansen, who claims Blackburn boss Mark Hughes was more understanding of his psychological problems than previous manager, Graeme Souness, says it was Sam Allardyce's reputation for embracing all fields of sports medicine and his success in reviving careers that persuaded him to join Wanderers, where his former Blackburn team-mate Kevin Davies has hit the heights after being discarded by Southampton.

"Kevin Davies has had a hell of a turnaround," Jansen added. "Whatever medicine he was given, I wouldn't mind some of it.

"It's been a nightmare for me. I've constantly contemplated hanging my boots up and been talked out of it time and again.

"It's been the most frustrating time of my life. I loved playing football and, if I can rediscover that and get that love again, it will be worth it.

"But it just seems a hell of a journey to go on.

"I've had a lot of support from friends and family, who have all been telling me to keep going. Now Bolton have given me a chance and I'm going to take it with both hands.

"I am nervous, but these are the cards I have been dealt."