John Myles column

By the time you're reading this, it's possible that the fevered speculation concerning Mark Hughes and the Newcastle manager's job will be settled.

But as I write this on Monday morning, it looks as if there is a real prospect of Sparky following the tradition of a long line of Blackburn managers to the graveyard of St James Park.

Ironically, one outcome that might possibly prevent that would be for the ex-Rovers and Geordies hero Shearer to unequivocally state that he would be prepared to take on the job and for Mike Ashley to give in to the wishes of the majority of the fans and appoint him.

If that were to happen, it would arguably be as significant a contribution from Shearer to the Rovers cause as his many fantastic goals in a blue and white shirt.

Make no mistake, losing Mark Hughes now (and with him the backroom staff and probably two of our best players), would be a massive bodyblow to our club, and we stand at a pivotal moment in the future of Blackburn Rovers.

Although there's absolutely no doubt that Mark is keeping his options open, there's no certainty, of course, that he'd accept what most regard as a poisoned chalice.

Sparky's protestations to the media of being happy at Rovers were not entirely convincing and a phrase which seems to have been adopted with annoying regularity in the press is that "he has taken this club as far as he can take them," referring of course to the contrast in resources between Blackburn and a club like Newcastle.

Opinions amongst those I canvassed after the heartening win against Bolton on Sunday were divided as to whether or not Sparky would take the job if it was offered.

For what it's worth, although my heart says he'll stay and at least await for the United job, my head says he would probably see this as a no lose situation and as a stepping stone to the job of his dreams.

I truly hope for the sake of Rovers that I'm wrong or that Alan Shearer will step up to the mark and prevent Sparky having to make a difficult decision.

I have a suggestion for Mike Ashley that might appeal. Did you know that his company Sports Direct have been previous sponsors of Rovers and that apparently Ashley conducted the business personally?

He's not a Geordie and has no real connection to Newcastle United, so why doesn't he just sell Newcastle and buy Rovers?

He'll have enough change for as many blue and white shirts as he needs to become one of the lads in the Blackburn End and that way he can have Mark Hughes, a nicer strip and a better team instantly.

Come on Mike, you know it makes sense!