THE timing of Roy Hodgson's arrival at Ewood looked as though it could be brought forward today, following an eventful and emotional couple of days in Milan, writes PETER WHITE.

Reports that Blackburn Rovers' new manager had walked out on Internazionale in the wake of an unsavoury confrontation with one of his players at Wednesday's UEFA Cup final were being scanned with extra interest at Ewood.

And, if Hodgson sticks with a decision to quit the Serie A giants before their season ends, then he could be in a position to take up his new responsibilities before the anticipated date when the players report back for pre-season training.

Rovers chairman Robert Coar has not spoken to Hodgson since the UEFA Cup final when Inter were beaten by Schalke on penalties and the manager was the subject of an alleged assault in the dugout by Javier Zanetti after he had substituted him seconds from the end of the game.

But Tony Parkes, who led Rovers' successful survival bid, and first team coach Derek Fazackerley were flying back from Italy this afternoon, and will be in a position to give the chairman a first-hand account of events in Milan.

The duo went to Italy on Wednesday to watch the UEFA Cup final, study the training methods used by the Italians and Hodgson and also discuss future plans in detail with the new boss.

"Whatever is happening there has nothing to do with us," said Mr Coar.

"Roy is still employed by Inter as far as we are concerned and so we do not have any input. Obviously, we are interested in what is going on. Though it might have been more significant from our point of view if there had been a couple of months of the season remaining, rather than just two games.

"It's only a matter of days whatever happens."

Inter are due to play Napoli this weekend and then finish their programme with a game at Bologna on Sunday week.

They still have an outside chance of pipping Parma to claim runners-up spot and give themselves a chance of qualifying for the Champions' League.

And that would be enough to push Inter president Massimo Moratti to do all in his power to try to persuade Hodgson to complete the season.

The Ewood manager-in-waiting is believed to have told the players at Inter of his decision to go now rather than wait until the season is over.

He was bitterly disappointed that Inter lost the UEFA Cup final on penalties, meaning that he had failed to leave the San Siro without landing a major trophy for the club.

And the incident with Zanetti looks as if it could prove to be the last straw.

Hodgson has not been happy with the way the Italian Press and the supporters have poured criticism on his team, even though they have been challenging for honours on three fronts this season.

They were UEFA Cup finalists, Italian Cup semi-finalists and still have that outside chance of qualifying for the European Cup.

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