FOOTBALL fans the length of the country must be revelling in the demise of Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson.

For the best part of a decade, United were the dominant force in English football and didn't their fans love rubbing our noses in it?

But now the edifice appears to be crumbling at Old Trafford, so much so there's even talk that Fergie's job could be in jeopardy.

Saturday's limp performance at the Riverside, where the Reds surrendered meekly at the hands of Middlesbrough, was the clearest sign yet that all is not well in the United camp.

And those suspicions were then confirmed yesterday by reports of Roy Keane's amazing outburst on MUTV, in which his criticism of some United players was said to be so fierce that it had to be pulled from being screened on Monday night.

While Blackburn fans will, no doubt, delight in seeing the Reds in such a state of turmoil, it could also spell bad news for Rovers.

Because if Fergie ultimately ends up getting the boot then there's every chance Mark Hughes' name will feature on a shortlist of possible successors.

Let's face it, Sparky has done a magnificent job in his short time at Blackburn and he now has a reputation for being one of the most tactically astute managers in the Premiership.

On top of that, he's still revered like a God by those United fans who worshipped his every move as a player, and he has the kind of tough, single-minded mentality that you would need to follow in the footsteps of someone like Sir Alex.

Put it this way, it's not beyond the realms of possibility to imagine Sparky featuring quite prominently in any search for a potential heir to the throne.

He showed his credentials once again at the weekend by picking a bold side to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The temptation must have been to pack the midfield and try and play for a draw against Jose Mourinho's runaway leaders, but instead Hughes went with two up front and, for 40 minutes or so, Rovers had the champions rattled.

It was a brave approach but Chelsea have so much quality these days, they managed to raise their game several notches in the second half and finally sealed the points courtesy of goals from Frank Lampard and Joe Cole.

Nevertheless, Rovers were far from disgraced on the day and they can take great pride from the fact they became the first team to score twice against the Blues since Arsenal achieved that same feat in December last year.

What they must do now is show the same appetite against Charlton this weekend.

It's all very well putting in performances against the Chelseas of this world, but Rovers' real bread and butter is home games against the Charltons and the Birminghams of this world.

If we can maintain our excellent home form then a place in the top half of the table is well within our grasp.

But the better we do, the more clubs like United will sit up and take notice of the excellent work being done by our manager.