MARK Hughes's assistant manager Mark Bowen is something of a veteran when it comes to clashes between Norwich City and Blackburn Rovers.

During his nine years as a player with the Canaries, Bowen appeared in the fixture on a number of occasions.

But one meeting between the two sides stands out in particular - the 7-1 thrashing Rovers gave Norwich on October 3, 1992.

On that memorable day at Ewood, Bowen was playing at left back for City and spent most of the afternoon chasing Stuart Ripley, who was in blistering form for Kenny Dalglish's newly-promoted Blackburn.

Norwich had arrived in the north west sitting proudly at the top of the Premier League table but it wasn't long before Alan Shearer ran riot and knocked the stunned Canaries off their lofty perch.

"I remember we came into the dressing room after the game and we were all pretty shell-shocked to be honest," recalls Bowen.

"We were shouting and swearing at each other but our manager Mike Walker just sat us all down and said 'it's not a problem lads.'

"He said 'if it happens again I'll go bananas but this is probably a one-off because we're a better side than that so we'll put it behind us.'

"From there, we went on and ended up doing very well that season - I think we finished third.

"But Blackburn were a good side, too, and we couldn't live with them that day."

Bowen will be in the opposite camp tomorrow when the two sides meet again at Carrow Road.

And this time he'll be praying for a Rovers victory as he and Hughes attempt to plot the downfall of his former club.

Both sides are currently struggling for results at the wrong end of the table, unlike that meeting 12 years ago.

But Bowen believes it's only a matter of time before Rovers start climbing the table, hopefully at the expense of his former employees.

"Everyone who knows Mark Hughes knows he has a history of getting the job done and I think there's a bright future at Blackburn Rovers," added Bowen.

"The club's had a difficult year or so and we've come into a side which is in the bottom half of the table but our first aim must be to make sure that we get some points on the board before the transfer window in January."