Tony Parkes is expected to be named as the new manager of Blackburn Rovers today after finally revealing that he wants the job full-time.

Parkes, 50 and the caretaker-manager since the dismissal of Brian Kidd seven unbeaten games ago, has spent the past two months claiming that he does not want the job at a club which has over the past 25 years employed him as a player, coach and on four previous occasions as the stand-in manager.

It is expected that Parkes will try to bring the former Rovers captain Colin Hendry back from Rangers. The Scot has said he would jump at the chance of a return to the club as part of the management team.

Arsene Wenger has insisted that Emmanuel Petit must see out the remaining three years of his contract. The Arsenal manager will today discuss with his compatriot reports that the 29-year-old regards his contract as meaningless and considers his future every day because of the "anti-French bias" in English football and its punishing schedule.

"He knows how good English football has been for him," Wenger said. "He made a big step forward and if he analyses all that objectively he will one day thank English football."