Soccer Shorts: Mark Hughes has re-emerged as the favourite to become manager of Blackburn after his representative yesterday invited the club to open negotiations with the Football Association of Wales.
Hughes had appeared to rule himself out of the running by saying he had "no plans" to quit as manager of Wales, but the comments of his agent Dennis Roach put him back at the head of the pack of those vying to succeed Graeme Souness.
Roach said Hughes has a clause in his contract allowing him to manage in the Premiership, but it remains to be seen whether he would still want to be in charge of Wales on a part-time basis.
Roach said: "Mark has a contract with Wales which he totally respects.
"However, it has always been his ambition to manage in the Premiership if the right job at the right club came along, and there is a clause in his contract which allows for that to happen.
"Mark had two great years at Ewood Park as a player so Blackburn is a club which is close to his heart, and therefore this is the kind of job that would interest him."
Celtic going south
Major Celtic shareholder Dermot Desmond believes the reigning Scottish Premier League champions will be playing in the English Premiership within the next three to four years.
Yesterday, the Irish businessman said: "I think in the next three or four years we'll see Celtic and Rangers in the Premiership. I think the market will dictate that they want a more competitive Premier League and it's obvious that Celtic and Rangers should be invited to be part of that."
Rangers fall short
Rangers suffered losses of £5.9 million as their debts increased from £68 million to £72 million in the last financial year, the Scottish club said yesterday.
The sales of Barry Ferguson, Lorenzo Amoruso and Neil McCann netted Rangers over £10 million, but the team's form suffered from their departures.
Rangers and Celtic continue to be hampered by a lack of television revenue from their domestic league.
No joy for Cahill
Everton midfielder Tim Cahill has failed to get a suspension lifted and will miss Sunday's home game with Middlesbrough.
The midfielder got a second yellow card after lifting his shirt over his head while celebrating scoring the winning goal against Manchester City on Saturday.
Everton believed that the dismissal was unfair as Cahill had not removed his shirt.
WBA not in crisis
West Brom chairman Jeremy Peace has denied reports that he and manager Gary Megson held a meeting on Monday to discuss the manager's future at the club.
There had been speculation that Megson's job was under threat after a bust-up had taken place between a player and a staff member on the team coach after Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Liverpool.
Peace issued a statement to "address and correct several issues raised and allegations made".
"There were reports of a so-called 'crisis meeting' on Monday of this week between Gary Megson and me. No such meeting took place," he said.
In brief . . .
Senegalese midfielder Khalilou Fadiga has joined Bolton . . . Newcastle are close to signing 35-year-old defender Ronny Johnsen. . . Coventry have signed striker Stern John from Birmingham City. . . And Argentina's national coach Marcelo Bielsa has resigned.
