Blackburn name Hughes as new coach
| Wales supremo Hughes has agreed to become new Blackburn manager |
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LONDON, England -- Blackburn have appointed Wales national team manager Mark Hughes as their new manager, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.
"Blackburn announce tonight that Mark Hughes has been appointed manager with immediate effect," Blackburn said in a statement.
The English club have been without a manager since Graeme Souness left last week to take over at Premiership rivals Newcastle United.
Blackburn were earlier given permission by the Football Association of Wales to speak to Hughes.
"The officers of the FAW today gave Blackburn permission to speak to Mark and we await the outcome," David Collins, the FAW's secretary general, told Sky Sports News.
"There was an agreement with Mark that should a Premiership or Nationwide (Football League) club make a request that we would consider that."
Collins said Hughes would stay in charge of Wales for their next two World Cup qualifiers regardless of whether he joined Blackburn.
"At the moment, what we've agreed with Blackburn is that if they appoint him as their manager Mark would manage the Wales senior side against England and Poland on October 9 and 13," Collins said.
Hughes, the former Wales and Manchester United striker, spent two years at Blackburn as a player and despite enjoying relative success in five years with Wales he has always said he would like to manage a Premier League club.
"Mark had two great years at Ewood Park as a player so Blackburn is a club which is close to his heart and, therefore, this is the kind of job that would interest him," said Hughes's agent Dennis Roach.