TONY Parkes will lead Blackburn Rovers promotion charge until the end of the season.

Jack Walker and his board approached Parkes over the weekend about extending his fifth stint as caretaker.

And the 50-year-old coach has decided to accept their offer after player-power persuaded him to have a change of heart about the post.

It brings to an end the board's five-week search for a new manager to replace Brian Kidd.

And the players and coaching staff can now devote their full attention to the task of winning back Rovers' place in the Premiership.

A host of big names have been linked with the job, the latest being Sunderland boss Peter Reid.

But owner Jack Walker is delighted Parkes has once again agreed to step into the breach. "As soon as Tony made it clear he was interested in the job the board considered his candidacy along with the other short-listed names and Tony came out on top," said Walker.

"He is a true blue and white, he has always given us outstanding service and I have every reason to believe he will again be successful this time.

"There is an air of confidence in the dressing room and Tony has the support of the players, directors and fans.

"Now the managerial uncertainty has been removed, I believe the recent improvement on the field will be sustained."

A report in one of yesterday's tabloids suggested Rovers had offered to make Sunderland boss Reid the highest paid manager in the country. Ewood chief executive John Williams today refused to comment on the speculation.

But sources in the north east claim Rovers were granted permission to speak to Reid several weeks ago but he decided to stay put at the Stadium of Light.

Meanwhile, Parkes was disappointed with his side's 2-2 draw against West Brom in the FA Cup on Saturday - even though they extended their unbeaten run to eight games under his tenure.

Rovers led twice thanks to second half goals from Per Frandsen and Nathan Blake.

But Albion fought back and nearly pinched it in the dying seconds when striker Lee Hughes forced a point-blank save out of Alan Kelly.

"We played a lot of good football in the second half and we are disappointed we didnt win it," said Parkes. "But fair credit to West Brom. They put us under a lot of pressure at times, their frontmen were lively and a draw was probably a fair result. We played well in the second half, we broke quickly, played a lot of good football and caused West Brom one or two problems.

"But we couldn't hang onto the lead.

"It was disappointing to concede a goal so quickly after we had taken the lead because if we'd have kept it a 1-0 for a while we might have killed them off.

"But that then lifted them and they could have gone on to win it themselves. "That's cup football, I suppose, but we are still in the hat although we've now got an extra game which we could have done without."

The two sides now meet again at Ewood next Tuesday and, with the incentive of a trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool in the fourth round, Parkes is confident his troops will see the job through." Rovers reserves face Sunderland tonight in an FA Premier reserve fixture at New Ferens Park. And defender Marlon Broomes is expected to make his comeback after a long injury lay off. John Filan, Jeff Kenna and Matt Jansen are also set for a run out.

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