Rovers relegation disastrous - MH

01 May 2009 13:22
With finance experts claiming promotion to the Premier League is worth £60million, tumbling out of the top flight has never been more costly. One look at the foot of the Championship, where Charlton and Southampton are already doomed to the drop and Norwich seem certain to join them emphasises the financial risks faced by former Premier League clubs if they cannot maintain their status. And Hughes feels his former club, who face Manchester City at Eastlands on Saturday, would be in trouble if they went down. "I know Blackburn very well from top to bottom and they cannot afford to go out of the Premier League," he said. "That would be a disaster. "It has been a difficult season for them. They were an established top 10 club when I was there and this year they have not been able to hit those heights." Thankfully for Rovers, their victory over Wigan last weekend has taken them to the brink of safety. Their present tally of 37 points may well be enough if Newcastle and Middlesbrough slit each other's throats by drawing at St James' Park on May 11, although Hughes knows Sam Allardyce will have his side fully charged up. "Sam has come in and got them playing in a way that is helping them at the moment given their situation," said Hughes. "They are getting points on the board, which is key. "I still look out for their results. I had four good years there and enjoyed working with the people. They were a big part of the success I had there. It is a good club." However, Hughes recognised it was a good club with limitations, hence the reason he had no hesitation quitting to take up the offer of succeeding Sven-Goran Eriksson at City. The exit of owner Thaksin Shinawatra followed shortly afterwards but, unlike Allardyce's unhappy experience under Mike Ashley at Newcastle, City's new owners stood by the Welshman even though he has endured his own struggles this season as the Blues try to adjust to their new lofty status. "One of the main reasons I left Blackburn was that I wanted the expectation levels to rise and work under those conditions," he said. "I wanted to drive Manchester City forward. That is still my aim. "On occasions it has been frustrating and difficult but that was always part of the deal. "Nothing has changed from my initial thoughts about what the club would be like but maybe, because of the new owners, the focus has intensified in terms of the attention we get." Since City's UEFA Cup exit to Hamburg - who seem well set to reach the final - Hughes' focus has purely been on achieving a seventh-placed finish that would be enough to secure a spot in next season's new Europa League. Ironically, by not playing European football for the past fortnight, Hughes has been able to devote more time to practice on the training ground. The result has been wins over West Brom and Everton, with the prospect of completing three Premier League victories on the trot for the first time this season by beating his old club. "After making such an effort to get to the latter stages people might have thought we would have used the defeat against Hamburg as an excuse to switch off and take our eye off the ball," said Hughes. "That has not been the case. We have talked about finishing seventh for quite some time now. "We are having clear weeks leading into Premier League games, which has not always been the case this season, and that continuity leads me to anticipate we will have a good finish."

Source: Team_Talk