IF Mark Hughes ends up going to Manchester City, I don't think we can overstate the huge impact that would have on Blackburn Rovers.

It would be a massive loss to the club - on a par with Kenny Dalglish stepping down just weeks after we won the Premier League title in 1995.

But the harsh reality is this day was always going to come - the only surprise to me is the possible destination.

On the one hand I'm surprised that Mark would even consider joining a club like City, but then on the other I'm not.

It became clear to me fairly early on in his Rovers career that Mark was always destined to manage at the very highest level one day.

During his playing career, he was always a big player who wanted to test himself on the biggest possible stage, and now he seems to have that exact same mentality as a manager.

He wants to go to the very top of his profession and to do that you ultimately need money to spend on players.

Unfortunately, that's the one thing Rovers can't offer him, and he's shown signs of getting frustrated over the last six months.

Football wise, Rovers are a better club than City - a quick glance at last season's league table tells you that.

However, the one thing they can offer that Rovers can't is serious cash to spend on new signings.

I don't blame the Rovers board for this - they've done everything they can to help Mark in the transfer market.

But when the big clubs come calling ( or at least the clubs with big money), then clubs like Rovers are virtually powerless to stop them.