Mark Hughes back to Blackburn Rovers? Clear stance offered | OneFootball

FLW's Blackburn Rovers fan pundit doesn't think that his club should pursue Mark Hughes as their new manager this summer

Blackburn Rovers are on the managerial hunt once more this summer, after Michael O'Neill decided to remain as Northern Ireland manager, rather than return to club management permanently.

It was a real gut-punch of a decision for Blackburn to take, especially given that Rovers had shown signs of being a side capable of finishing comfortably in mid-table under the Northern Irishman, having won five, drawn five and lost five of the 15 league games he took charge of.

Nevertheless, the focus is now on who is available to come in and lead the club into the 2026/27 campaign. Coincidentally, this summer has also seen one of Blackburn's greatest managers become available once more.

Indeed, Mark Hughes left Carlisle United in the National League on Thursday, following a promotion near-miss, despite accumulating 95 points across the fifth-tier campaign.

It may have been 18 years since the 62-year-old was managing in the Ewood Park dugout, but a lot of Blackburn fans would agree that the club's decline started when Hughes left for Manchester City in June 2008, and is therefore still a popular figure at the club due to the brilliant four years he helped oversee.

Blackburn Rovers fan pundit doesn't want Mark Hughes to be their next manager

During Hughes' time at Ewood Park, Blackburn recorded three top-10 finishes in the Premier League, including a sixth-placed one in the 2005/06 campaign, which led to European nights in East Lancashire.

Additionally, he helped the club reach domestic cup semi-finals in three consecutive years, and the quarter-final of the EFL Cup in his final campaign.

The likes of Motgan Gamst Pedersen, Benni McCarthy and Roque Santa Cruz were all cult heroes at Rovers under Mark Hughes, and many Blackburn fans still reminisce over those years, especially now with the club struggling in the Championship.

Despite that, though, FLW's Rovers fan pundit, Simon Middlehurst, doesn't want to see his club go and bring the 62-year-old back to Ewood Park, even if he's now available once more following his departure from Carlisle.

"To be honest, no, I wouldn't have him back," Middlehurst admitted. "It's nothing against Mark Hughes; he was a great manager for Blackburn.

"He built up some really good squads, and we had some really good times with him as manager. The players he brought in, the European night, et cetera.

"But, the game is a lot different now; time has moved on since the last time Hughes was at Blackburn, and, to be honest, we shouldn't be looking at old managers to come in.

"The club needs to move forward, and we need to start bringing new people in. Going for Mark Hughes... I just don't think that would be the way forward for us."

Mark Hughes wouldn't be as popular an appointment as maybe once thought at Blackburn Rovers this summer

Sentiment aside, if Blackburn went and brought in a 62-year-old manager who had just left a club in the fifth tier, there'd be some outrage at Ewood Park. Therefore, just because Hughes is a popular figure at Ewood Park doesn't mean he'd be a popular hire.

As Middlehurst alluded to, the game has changed plenty since the Welshman was in charge of Blackburn, and it's even changed a lot since he last managed near the top of the Football League, which was back in 2018 with Southampton.

Next season's Championship campaign is set to be one of the more competitive ones in the division's history, which means that there's no real room for error, or else you face a real threat of being relegated. Rovers flirted with that threat last season, and won't want to again next year.

Bringing Hughes back, while it would invoke some positivity to begin with, likely would sour quickly due to poor performances and poor results if he is proven to be out of his depth, and that would lead to the 62-year-old's good reputation at Ewood Park dampening somewhat, too.