DARREN Carter today insisted that he had no regrets about his lengthy trial period at Blues.

“I would do it all over again,” the penalty shoot-out hero of the 2002 promotion insisted.

Carter began training with Blues at the beginning of August in the hope of earning a contract at his boyhood club.

After his Preston North End deal expired, he was invited down to Wast Hills and jumped at the chance.

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But there was to be no fairy tale return to Blues for Carter, who came up through the Academy ranks to make his first team debut as an 18-year-old just four months before that magical moment at the Millennium Stadium against Norwich City.

There had still been no decision made on a contract for Carter when Brighton & Hove Albion came in last week.

Gus Poyet indicated that he wanted to sign Carter, and the 27-year-old was due to play for their reserves against Bournemouth today.

“I’ve no regrets about it, not at all,” Carter told the Birmingham Mail. “I would do it all over again.

“People kept asking me what were Blues going to do, and they’d say ‘you’ve got more patience than me’.

“But personally it was a no-brainer because I knew what, potentially, could have been there for me.

“Obviously people know my feelings for Blues and it wasn’t a case of me just spending a couple of months there going along for the ride.