Dowie favourite for Blackburn

Iain Dowie held talks with Blackburn chiefs about taking over at Ewood Park yesterday after Mark Hughes made it clear he was not prepared to walk away from his job as manager of Wales.

Sportsmail can reveal that the Crystal Palace boss is now firm favourite to fill the gap left by Graeme Souness's move to Newcastle, having being interviewed by top officials at Blackburn.

Dowie has always been among the frontrunners, along with Hughes, Wigan's talented young manager Paul Jewell and the former Southampton and Coventry boss, Gordon Strachan.

But the former Northern Ireland striker now appears to have emerged as Blackburn's first choice candidate, after a clear statement of intent from Wales' under-fire coach.

Despite coming under increasing pressure, in the wake of disappointing World Cup draws with Azerbaijan and Northern Ireland, Hughes all but ruled himself out of the Ewood Park vacancy by declaring that he would not quit as national boss.

Although Blackburn's players want the former Manchester United striker, he can remain in the running only if Ewood bosses agree to let him continue carrying out his international duties on a part-time basis. Hughes wants to get into club management but does not want to desert Wales before their crucial World Cup qualifiers against England and Poland next month.