Blackburn Rovers caretaker boss Tony Parkes today said the club should be looking to appoint a young 'up and coming manager' to replace Graeme Souness.

Parkes believes a change of direction is needed following the free-spending days of high profile managers like Souness and Kenny Dalglish.

And he has urged the board to go for a forward thinker - like Mark Hughes or Iain Dowie - who could work within the tight financial constraints that now exist at the club in the post-Jack Walker era.

"We need a young up and coming manager - that's the way forward," said Parkes.

"We've had Graeme Souness and Kenny Dalglish but now we need a lower profile man.

"The club is different now to the days when Jack Walker was here.

"There's not a lot of money about so we need someone who can work with the players and help the players to improve.

"He should be young, up and coming, and full of modern ideas.

"When Jack was here the managers we had in Kenny and Graeme were the ideal people to put in charge but now we need to lower our sights and get someone in who's a bit more low key.

"There are one or two around and they have been linked with the job."

Parkes is not being disparaging when he refers to making a more 'low key' appointment.

Instead, he's calling for a move away from the more traditional 'cheque book' managers the club has tended to hire in the past.

And Hughes and Dowie - who are thought to be two of the three names on the short-list - would both match the identikit Parkes is proposing.

Moves are afoot to get a new man in as quickly as possible and Hughes remains the firm favourite.

As I understand it, the Football Association of Wales would NOT try to block an approach from Rovers if one was to come in.

Rovers would have to pay £250,000 in compensation to get him but that's a sum they are willing to pay for the right man.

Dowie, meanwhile, has emerged as a possible dark horse for the post and he, too, like Hughes appears to meet all the right criteria.

The former Oldham boss is stalling on a new contract with Crystal Palace and his family still live in the North West.

One man who appears to have distanced himself from the post is former Rovers favourite Mike Newell.

The Luton Town manager has been linked with a return to Ewood but Newell himself has been quick to play that down as speculation.

"I certainly haven't linked myself to the job, but if anyone else has then that's very flattering," said Newell.

"I was asked about being linked to it, but at the end of the day I am in a job at Luton and I'm enjoying it here.

"The press will speculate and they have made a list of 10 or 15 people who could go there, but whether the next manager of Blackburn Rovers is on that list remains to be seen."

Newell has guided Luton to a five-point lead at the top of League One - a feat that saw him pick up the August Coca-Cola Manager of the Month award for the division.

In the meantime, Tony Parkes is hoping whoever gets the Rovers job will find a place for him in his backroom staff.

Parkes is one of football's great survivors having spent more than thirty years at Rovers in various guises.

And he hopes that long association will continue for some time yet.

"Hopefully, I can stay when a new manager comes in but I'm just happy to stay here at the moment.

"It did cross my mind in 1986 that I may lose my job and again in 1988.

"Look what happened at Newcastle. With Bobby going that means four people are likely to lose their jobs. The manager and the coaching staff are all going to go.

"But I'll battle on and I'm optimistic that I can stay here with whoever comes in."

Asked if Graeme Souness had invited him to go to Newcastle, Parkes added: "That was never a possibility. I wouldn't go to Newcastle, it's not there for me.

"It would take three hours for me to get there and I've been living within 10 minutes of the training ground for the last 30 years.

"Graeme knew that and he hasn't asked me to go with him."