Mark Hughes has been appointed as the new manager of Manchester City after signing a three-year contract.
Hughes held talks with the City hierarchy in London on Tuesday evening and agreed to leave Blackburn after a second round of talks.
Blackburn Rovers chairman John Williams has told fans it may take time to unveil a successor to Mark Hughes.
Hughes led Blackburn into the Uefa Cup twice during his reign and also presided over three cup semi-final appearances.
- Similar posts
- Rovers after Andrew Johnson (56.2%)
- Shearer says no to Blackburn (21.3%)
- Ten cate for Blackburn Rovers? (21.3%)
- Paul Ince is new Blackburn Rovers boss (20.6%)
- Blackburn Rovers sign Vince Grella (18.4%)
Mark Hughes has been confirmed as the new manager of Queens Park Rangers on a two-and-a-half-year deal.
The Welshman was made the favourite to take the job at Loftus Road after the sacking of Neil Warnock on Sunday.
“I’m fully aware of the challenge in the short and long term and I am genuinely excited about the ambition of the owners,” Hughes said.
“The immediate priority is to consolidate our place in the Premier League. The future is very bright.”
The 48-year-old, who will lead first-team training later on Tuesday, added that the role filled him with “great enthusiasm”.
Hughes, who has has previously managed Wales, Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City, left Fulham in June citing his desire “to further my experiences” as “a young, ambitious manager”.
QPR lie 17th in the Premier League and have gone eight league games without a win, last picking up three points with a 3-2 win at Stoke on 19 November.
Club chairman Tony Fernandes, who completed his takeover in August, believes Hughes’ desire to prove himself makes him the ideal appointment.
“Mark has a proven track record in the Premier League, bringing a wealth of experience at both club and international level,” he said.
“He has a great passion to achieve as a manager and has already been hugely successful in his career.
“His ambitions match those of the board and we are delighted to have him at the helm.”
QPR were promoted back to the top flight last season under Warnock and made an encouraging start to the season.
They were ninth after the victory at Stoke but have failed to win since then and have slid to within one point of the relegation zone.
They also needed a last-minute equaliser from Heidar Helguson to avoid an FA Cup third-round defeat by League One side MK Dons on Saturday.
Hughes’ first managerial role was with Wales, taking them to within one game of qualifying for Euro 2004.
The former Manchester United and Barcelona striker subsequently took over at Blackburn and, after avoiding relegation in his first season, managed three successive top-10 finishes, attracting the attention of Manchester City in June 2008.
After the Abu Dhabi Group’s takeover of the club three months later, Hughes oversaw a spending spree that included the recruitment of Brazilian playmaker Robinho for £32.4m, a British record at the time.
The likes of Emmanuel Adebayor, Joleon Lescott and Carlos Tevez followed, but Hughes’ results failed to match the owners’ expectations and he was fired in December 2009 with City sixth in the Premier League.
QPR striker Tommy Smith told BBC Radio 5 live that he was delighted with the club’s choice of manager.
“We are very pleased,” said Smith. “We were shocked to hear of Neil Warnock’s departure on Sunday. It came slightly out of the blue but after that everyone wanted a quick appointment.
“To get someone of Mark’s calibre, and to get him so quickly, is great news.
“Mark popped into the training ground this afternoon for a meeting. He sat us down, and introduced himself and his backroom staff.
“He talked about the challenges ahead, what he is going to bring to the club and what challenges he is going to set us as players.
“To get a manager who has played at the highest level and managed big teams is great for everyone concerned, particularly the players.
“We signed a fair bit of Premiership experience at the end of August but a lot of the players haven’t been at this level for too long.
“So to work with someone like Mark every day, with the wealth of experience he has…it is exciting times.”
Fulham manager Mark Hughes has resigned after less than a year in charge at Craven Cottage.
Hughes has been linked with the vacant job at Aston Villa, although the Midlands club have denied making any contact with the Welshman.
The 47-year-old also denied that he had been approached by another club before he chose to quit.
“As a young, ambitious manager I wish to move on to further my experiences,” he said.
“I believe my management team and I have done a good job and the club has a strong foundation from which they can go forward.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to clarify that neither myself nor my representative have approached or have been approached by another club.
“This decision to leave Fulham has not been influenced by any outside party.”
Fulham had been in talks with Hughes to extend the two-year deal he signed in July.
However, the club admitted defeat in their attempts to prevent him walking away after he offered his resignation.
Hughes will serve a month’s notice and be available to another club from the end of June – but BBC Sport understands that Premier League rules mean neither he nor his agent can be contacted by other clubs until after 30 June.
The former Manchester City manager, whose final game in charge of the club was a 2-2 draw with Arsenal, had brought stability to Fulham in the wake of predecessor Roy Hodgson’s departure to Liverpool last summer.
Deprived of the services of striker Bobby Zamora for much of the season, Hughes steered the club to an eighth-place finish with 49 points – four places and three points better than they achieved in their previous campaign.
Fulham also qualified for Europe after topping the Premier League’s fairplay standings.
Hughes’ first foray into management was with Wales who he took to within one game of qualifying for Euro 2004.
He subsequently took over at Blackburn and, after avoiding relegation in his first season, managed three successive top-10 finishes to attract the attention of Manchester City in June 2008.
After the Abu Dhabi Group’s takeover of the Eastlands club three months later, Hughes oversaw a spending spree that included the recruitment of Brazilian playmaker Robinho for £32.4m, a British record at the time.
The likes of Emmanuel Adebayor, Joleon Lescott and Carlos Tevez followed, but Hughes’ results failed to match the owners’ expectations and he was fired in December 2009 with City sixth in the Premier League.
He had been out of work until being appointed at Fulham, but has since been linked with Bayern Munich, a club he played for in 1987-88 when on loan from Barcelona.
Reports that the German side were interested in him replacing Louis van Gaal emerged in March.
At the time Hughes denied he was interested in moving on, describing Fulham as “a great club…going in the right direction”.
Mark Hughes has been confirmed as Fulham’s new manager, signing a two-year deal with the west London club.
Hughes, 46, had been out of work since being sacked by Manchester City in December 2009 and replaces Roy Hodgson.
“I am joining on the back of two of the most successful seasons in the club’s history,” he told the Fulham website.
“I am confident that with some additions to the squad, hard work and commitment, we can move this club forward in the right direction.”
The Welshman will be unveiled as manager on 3 August and his first match in charge will be a friendly against Werder Bremen four days later.
BBC Sport understands that he has been successful in securing positions for his trusted backroom team of Mark Bowen, Kevin Hitchcock and Eddie Niedzwiecki, who all worked with him at City.
But that raises a question mark over the position of Fulham’s first-team coach Ray Lewington, who was caretaker manager after Hodgson left for Liverpool earlier this month.
It is also believed that Hughes will look to tempt out-of-favour City players to London, including Craig Bellamy, Roque Santa Cruz and Stephen Ireland.
“I have discussed my aspirations with both the chairman [Mohamed Al Fayed] and Alistair Mackintosh [chief executive, with whom he worked at City] and believe that we are aligned in our aims for what can realistically be achieved here,” said Hughes.
“I hope the Fulham fans will enjoy some special times during this season’s campaign and we will work hard to achieve that.”
He added: “I’m looking forward to working with the squad as soon as possible, and in making sure the on-pitch preparations are complete before the first competitive ball is kicked in August.”
Hughes, a former Manchester United, Barcelona and Chelsea striker, began his managerial career with Wales in 1999. He took them to the brink of qualification for Euro 2004, only to denied by a play-off loss to Russia.
I know that he understands my vision for the club
Chairman Mohamed Al Fayed
In 2004, he became manager at Blackburn and guided them to an FA Cup semi-final and a place in the Uefa Cup.
He was appointed by City in 2008 but the club’s change of ownership and hugely increased budget and level of expectation meant he only had 18 months in the job before he was replaced by Roberto Mancini.
At Fulham, he will work with more modest resources but will inherit a side left in good shape by Hodgson.
Last season, Hodgson guided the Cottagers on a memorable Europa League campaign, which ended when they lost in the final to Atletico Madrid.
Fulham had attempted to recruit Ajax coach Martin Jol but were forced to look elsewhere when the Dutch club refused to let the former Tottenham manager leave.
However, Cottagers chairman Mohamed Al Fayed described Hughes as “a great guy”.
Al Fayed added: “I know that he understands my vision for the club and believes in what we want to achieve.
“We have enjoyed two incredibly successful years and my hopes and dreams for this club are for that journey to continue.”
Hughes’s first Premier League game in charge of Fulham will be away to Bolton on 14 August. The Cottagers will then host Manchester United on 22 August.
Former England manager Steve McClaren has admitted he would like to replace Mark Hughes as Blackburn Rovers boss.
The 47-year-old has been out of work since he was sacked by England in November after they failed to qualify for Euro 2008.
“Of course that would interest me,” McClaren told BBC Radio 5 Live when asked about the vacancy at Ewood Park.
“Unfortunately what happened with England was a huge failure but I want to get back into management.”
McClaren has reportedly turned down an offer from Dutch side FC Twente to become their new coach as he would prefer to work in England.
Full story here : http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/b/blackburn_rovers/7441648.stm