It would be no exaggeration to say that things are not going well for Blackburn Rovers at the moment.

Monday's 2-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth means that the club have now won just one of their last 14 league games, a run that has seen them plummet down the Championship table, and bring their hopes of claiming a play-off place this season to an end in emphatic style.

Indeed, right now, it still seems far from certain that on current form, Blackburn will not find themselves dragged even further towards a relegation battle between now and the end of the season.

Here, though, we're turning our focus away from that rather worrying position for the Ewood Park club, to look at some of those who have made a more positive impact on the club in years gone by.

To do that, we've selected our top ten foreign players - from outside the UK and Republic of Ireland - who have pulled on the colours of Blackburn Rovers in recent years.

We start this list with Brett Emerton, who joined Blackburn from Dutch giants Feyenoord in the summer of 2003.

Over the next eight years, the Australian would go onto become a regular feature for Rovers, making almost 300 appearances in all competitions for the club, with his versatility making him a hugely useful asset at Ewood Park, allowing him to fill in in a variety of positions, as well as his more natural role on the right wing.

Emerton left Blackburn early on in the 2011/12 season to return to his native Australia - where he would see out his career with Sydney FC - having become a rather popular figure during his time at Ewood Park.

While his departure from Ewood Park may have come in somewhat contentious circumstances, there can be no denying that Lucas Neill was a very useful player for Blackburn Rovers.

Joining the club from Millwall in September 2001, Neill became one of Blackburn's most reliable defensive assets during their early years back in the Premier League, with the Australian helping the club reach a number of Cup semi-finals and qualify for Europe on several occassions.

Having made over 200 appearances for Rovers in total, Neill left under something of a cloud when he joined West Ham in 2007 having seemingly pushed for the move away, damaging what had previously been a strong relationship with the clubs fanbase, and probably denying him a stronger standing on this list.

Joining Blackburn from Bayern Munich (there's still time to undo the damage of that Icelandic volcano, Robert Lewandowski) in the summer of 2007, Santa Cruz made an immediate impact at Ewood Park.

The Paraguayan netted a remarkable 23 goals in 43 appearances during his debut campaign with Rovers, unsurprisingly claiming the club's player of the year award for the 2007/08 season.

While the striker would leave for Manchester City midway through the following season, and a loan return to Blackburn as the club battled relegation from the Premier League can best be described as forgettable, that one season alone, when everything Santa Cruz touched seemed to turn gold, is enough to earn him a place on this list.

Like Santa Cruz, McCarthy is a striker who enjoyed a magnificent first season at Blackburn, after joining from Portuguese giants Porto in the summer of 2006.

Having made that move, McCarthy netted 24 goals in 50 appearances in all competitions for Blackburn during his debut Ewood Park campaign, helping the club to tenth in the Premier League, the FA Cu semi finals and the UEFA Cup round of 32.

Although he was never quite able to replicate that form, the South African still recorded a highly respectable 52 goals in 140 games for Rovers, with his ability to find the net remaining a key asset for much of his time at Ewood Park, before leaving for West Ham in January 2009.

Joining Blackburn from American side DC United in January 2005, New Zealand international Nelsen would go on to prove a huge hit at Ewood Park.

During his time at the club, Nelsen's physicality and leadership ability - he would regularly wear the captain's armband for Rovers - made him a key figure for the club, as he helped Blackburn develop one of the toughest defences in the Premier League.

In total, Nelsen would make just over 200 appearances in all competitions for Blackburn, becoming a fans favourite at Ewood Park, before leaving the club in January 2012 to join Tottenham, just months before Rovers' relegation from the Premier League.

Having joined Blackburn from Tromso in his native Norway as a 22-year-old back in 2004, there are few players of the subsequent area who would go on to develop as much of an affiliation with Rovers, as Morten Gamst Pedersen.

In total, the winger would spend nine years at Ewood Park, during which time his ability to strike a ball - either from a free-kick or on the volley - made him a cult figure not just with the Rovers fanbase, but amongst Premier League followers across all clubs.

Eventually, Pedersen, who produced many a memorable moment for Rovers - from a late cup winner against Burnley, to his brace in victory at Old Trafford, and that pensioner celebration - left in 2013 having made just short of 350 appearances for the club, with his clear affection for Blackburn, continuing to endear him to the club's fans to this day.

Samba joined Blackburn from Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin in 2005 January transfer window, and he quickly made an impact at Ewood Park.

Regularly lining up alongside the aforementioned Nelsen, the DR Congo international was crucial to moulding Rovers' defence into one that became as strong as it was, with his physicality and unerring determination to win a challenge making Samba himself one of the league's best defenders for a time.

The centre back also had a rather useful goalscoring record as well - perhaps not surprising given his towering height regularly allowed him to get his head on the end of set pieces in either area - and by the time he left Blackburn for Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala in February 2012, Samba had racked up 185 appearances and 18 goals for Rovers.

While his managerial spell with Blackburn may not have gone to plan, there can be no denying that Henning Berg made a big contribution to the club as a player.

Joining in 1993, Berg went on to make almost 200 appearances for Rovers - helping them to the Premier League title in 1995 - before leaving for Manchester United in 1997, where he added a couple more league title to his collection.

The Norwegian then returned to Ewood Park in 2000, helping the club win promotion back to English football's top-flight that season, and captaining Blackburn in their League Cup final win over Tottenham in 2002 - making him the only man to win all three with Rovers - before ending his playing time at Blackburn at the end of the 2002/03 season.

At nearly 31-years-old, Tugay was already approaching the latter stages of his career when he joined Blackburn from Rangers in the summer of 2001, not that that was going to stop him making an impact at Ewood Park.

Over the next eight years, the Turkish midfielder would go on to make himself one of the most popular figures at Ewood Park of the century, with his close control, range of passing, and ability to hit an absolute screamer from almost anywhere in the opposition half making him one of the most highly-rated players outside the Premier League's title contenders.

In total, Tugay would make 270 appearances in all competitions for Rovers, regularly playing a key role in Blackburn's success during the first decade of the century, and it was not surprising to see him get a hero's send-off from a near-capacity Ewood Park when he headed into retirement at the end of the 2008/09 season.

Just a few months before Tugay's arrival at Ewood Park, Blackburn had signed themselves another future Premier League icon, when they recruited Brad Friedel from Liverpool in November 2000.

Throughout his time at Ewood Park, the American goalkeeper would remain a model of consistency in every sense of the word, missing just four league games in eight Premier League seasons with the club after promotion in his debut campaign, while his ability to pull off a string of spectacular, sometimes match-deciding saves remained throughout his time at the club, earning him the man of the match award in Rovers' 2002 League Cup final win.

In total, Friedel made 358 appearances in all competitions for Blackburn and even scored once - becoming the first goalkeeper to do so for the club - before leaving for Aston Villa and the Tottenham, where he would become the first man to reach 300 consecutive Premier League appearances, and in 2019, the goalkeeper became one of the first seven players to be inducted into the Blackburn Rovers Hall of Fame.