CRAIG HIGNETT may have been born and bred in Liverpool, but the adopted Teessider couldn't be more at home in the North-East.

It was in 1992 that the boy from Whiston first walked through the gates of Ayresome Park. There were high hopes for Lennie Lawrence's acquisition from Crewe Alexandra.

Rejected by boyhood heroes Liverpool, Hignett was taken to Gresty Road, where his football education began under Dario Gradi, and where - after a brief learning curve in non-league football with Stafford Rangers - he eventually established himself as a genuine goal-scoring midfielder in the lower echelons of the Football League.

Scouts soon came flocking to see Gradi's latest prospect and, despite interest from Liverpool and West Ham, Hignett's love affair with the region began when a £500,000 move to Teesside beckoned.

In switching towns, both enriched with industrial past and present, Hignett felt he was moving home from home.

"I found Middlesbrough very similar to where I was brought up in Liverpool so I didn't find it that hard to settle in at all," said Hignett.

"When I moved up I was staying at the Swallow Hotel in Stockton at the time. I was only a young lad and everything was new, but it was good."

And with The Mall nightspot only a stone's throw away, who could argue? Hignett, though, would argue he was more a Tall Trees man back then.

"That was before football was professional and we could get away with it," he smiled. "The people have always been really friendly with me up here and that's why I think I've settled in so well.

"My wife and all of her family are from Middlesbrough so this is where I call home now.

"I go back to Liverpool to see my parents, but I love it up here and I would never move again."

Hignett, now based at Wynyard, joined Boro at a time when European football was something Teessiders watched on TV, survival in the top flight being the only aim at Boro.

"The move was everything I wanted as a player," said Hignett. "Middlesbrough were playing in the Premier League and doing pretty well so the move seemed right.

"West Ham were interested in me but Middlesbrough were the first club to put the money up and show some faith in me."

Hignett opened his account for Boro in familiar surroundings, grabbing a brace in a 2-2 draw at Everton.

"My dad's an Everton fan and he wouldn't speak to me for ages," joked Hignett. "As well as Liverpool, I was at Everton too as a kid, so those goals were a bit special."

Despite suffering relegation in his first Premier League season in 1993, Hignett had already made a name for himself in Lawrence's side, continuing to score freely from midfield.

The scouser remained an integral part of the Boro side when Bryan Robson succeeded Lawrence as Boro boss in 1994, helping the club return to the top flight in their last season at Ayresome Park.

A year later Hignett made history when he scored the first goal at the Riverside Stadium, in a 2-0 win over Chelsea.

"I didn't think much of it at the time and it was Robbie Mustoe who came up and made me realise how important the goal was," said Hignett.

"I didn't know what he was on about but looking back I'm really proud of it.

"We had a good season but I think it went downhill when we signed Juninho!"

In forming an exciting, new strike partnership with £5.25m summer signing, Nick Barmby - the pair were christened the 'midget gems' - Hignett was at the pinnacle of his career.

And even after European Cup winner Fabrizio Ravanelli and Emerson joined the Riverside ranks a year later, Hignett, in his own words, simply "got on with it", starring in both Cup final defeats in 1997, as Boro were relegated in the same season.

Taking a pay cut to remain on Teesside, Hignett's goals helped Boro reach their second consecutive League Cup final against Chelsea a year later and seal promotion at the first time of asking.

But it was his omission from the starting XI at Wembley that made Hignett realise his days on Teesside were drawing to a close.

"I always thought I would stay there forever and I never wanted to leave," admitted Hignett. "But I was half told I wouldn't be playing because I hadn't signed a contract, which was very disappointing.

"It was a bit soul-destroying at times when we were playing well and the others would come back into the side, regardless of how they were playing."

Hignett wasn't even named on the substitutes' bench, despite scoring three of Boro's goals en route to the final.

Just three days after returning to what was his native North-East with Boro from Glasgow Rangers, Paul Gascoigne was named on the bench ahead of Hignett.

But with some justification, he still received a runners-up medal, thanks to kind-hearted Gazza.

"He came over to me straight after the game and gave me his medal, which was a great gesture," said Hignett. "He was brilliant to me all week and I will never forget that."

With the writing already on the wall, Hignett's final appearance in a Boro shirt came a month later when his two goals helped the Teessiders to a 4-0 win over Oxford - skippered by Martin Gray - and promotion.

In the same month, Hignett sealed a move north of the border to Aberdeen. But with problems off the field, he returned to England with Barnsley after making just 13 appearances for the Dons.

"I was having problems at the time and I was going through a divorce so I found it difficult to settle," said Hignett.

"I was missing my kids, who were back in Warrington.

"In the end I was depressed and became disillusioned. Fortunately, John Hendrie - an ex-Boro teammate - came in and took me to Barnsley."

After scoring 35 goals in 77 appearances for the Tykes, Hignett sealed a £2.25m move to Graeme Souness' Blackburn in 2000.

But, despite winning the League Cup with Rovers, Hignett's career at Ewood Park was hampered by injury.

After spells with Coventry, Leicester, Crewe and Leeds, Hignett returned to his spiritual home when he joined Quakers last month.

"It got to the stage where I just wanted to enjoy my football and when I spoke to Dave (Hodgson) we just took it from there," said Hignett, who has signed until the end of the season at the Williamson Motors Stadium.

"I knew half the team from my Boro days anyway, so it wasn't really a difficult decision to make, especially when it was so close to home.

"I'm loving it. I think Dave and Mark Proctor bring a lot to the club. Dave is very much a man-manager, while Mark puts on some great sessions in training."

Hignett is keen to follow suit when he hangs up his boots.

He said: "I've done my coaching badges and I would really like to stay in the game.

"I would prefer to be a manager than a coach. I enjoy the man-management, rather than holding sessions."

Hignett holds former bosses Gradi and Dave Bassett (Barnsley) in high regard, but for different reasons.

"Dario changed the way I looked at football and as a coach he was someone I looked up to," said Hignett.

"I had a lot of time for Dave Bassett too. I thought his man-management was very good. As a coach Dario was the best and as a manager Dave was."

And while Hignett looks back on 16 years and over 500 appearances in the professional game, his only real disappointment was not representing his country.

"I've played in all the cup finals I dreamt of playing in as a kid but my only regret was not making it as an international," he said. "There were a couple of chances to play for Wales. Ireland was mentioned too, but all I wanted to do was play for England.

"Looking back I should have made more use of my Irish Gran!"