FORMER Chelsea chairman Ken Bates has admitted he tried to line up Mark Hughes as the new manager of Sheffield Wednesday.

Bates has been trying to take over at Hilsborough since the turn of the year and he claims he held talks with Hughes in March about the possibility of him becoming the Owls' new boss if he ever seized control.

As it happened, Bates's ambitious proposals were rejected by Wednesday chairman Dave Allen and his board.

But Bates has still not given up hope of buying into the Yorkshire club one day and his dream would be to take Hughes with him - even though the former Wales boss has recently become Blackburn Rovers' new manager.

"The quickest way to skid row would be backing great players to become good managers," said Bates.

"Study English football right now and you can count the number of 'greats' who have made it on one hand.

"Graeme Souness, Kevin Keegan, David O'Leary and Steve Bruce. And even they are nowhere near the standard set by Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho.

"Yet this quartet has just been joined by Mark Hughes, the man who agreed to become Sheffield Wednesday boss had I taken over at Wednesday.

"I still nurture the hope that one day I will take him with me to Wednesday.

"We did the deal at the end of March and Hughes eventually joined Blackburn in September.

"The news did not leak out and that tells you everything you need to know about his integrity.

"But then one of the first things I noticed about Mark when he joined Chelsea was what a good family man he was.

"He didn't go pubbing and clubbing. He also preferred to listen rather than sound off himself.

"These qualities have served him well in his first steps in management and he turned Wales from a pub outfit into a serious international side."

Bates firmly believes Hughes has all the credentials to be a hugely successful club manager at the highest level.

But frustratingly for him, it's Blackburn and not Sheffield Wednesday who are now likely to reap the rewards of those qualities.

"On the surface, Mark Hughes is a pretty affable bloke," added Bates, writing in his weekly column for a national newspaper.

"But, underneath, I detect a strong personality and a streak of ruthlessness.

"Like Ferguson, his old boss, he appears to have great determination, an ability to organise and the air of a winner.

"I was watching on TV when he was introduced to the Blackburn fans for the first time the other week.

"He walked out onto the pitch in a smart dark suit, collar and tie, clean shaven and his hair all in place. None of the tracksuit and trainer stuff.

"He looked like a manager should. Setting standards. Some of us fuddy-duddy chairmen like that."