Blackburn job: Hartlepool United boss Craig Hignett on link with Rovers

Craig Hignett insists talk linking him with the vacant manager's job at Blackburn Rovers is a 'non-story'.
Hartlepool United manager Craig Hignett.

Picture by DAN WESTWELLHartlepool United manager Craig Hignett.

Picture by DAN WESTWELL
Hartlepool United manager Craig Hignett. Picture by DAN WESTWELL

SportMail broke the news on Wednesday that the Hartlepool United boss was the odds-on favourite to replace Paul Lambert, who quit at Ewood Park.

Hignett said he was flattered to be linked with one of his former clubs but added there has been no approach for him.

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“I don’t know where all this has come from,” he said. “I haven’t had any contact from Blackburn and neither have the club. It’s a non-story.

“I didn’t feel I had the need to say anything about it, someone must have put some money on me!

“It’s nice to be linked but, as far as I’m aware, there is nothing going on.”

SportMail understands Hignett is on the shortlist of candidates drawn up by the Rovers think-tank which will pass on the names to the owners, the Venky’s, in India.

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Rochdale boss Keith Hill and Neil Warnock have also been linked with Blackburn, while Nigel Adkins, sacked by Sheffield United, is also in the frame.

Hignett said he had spoken to Pools chiarman Gary Coxall, the man who brought him to the club in February.

“Gary is different class,” said Hignett,

“I have a fantastic relationship with him and I’d like to think we are really open with each other and we say what we feel.

“It’s the same with [chief executive Russ Green.

“If anything happened I would tell them straight away, but nothing has happened.

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“I have had a conversation with Gary about it and we both said that neither of us have heard a thing.

“I am surprised at [how short] the odds are – I’ve only had 20 games at Pools.

”It’s gone all right and I’d like to think that in a fairly short time we have turned the club around and made it totally different to how it was before.

“I have total faith in what I do and my ability.

“What I want to do now is have a good summer, sign some good players and try to push next season to see how far we can go.”

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While it would appear it is a case of business as usual for Hignett he added that he was ambitious to better himself.

“You don’t know what’s on offer [in football],” he said in an interview with BBC Tees.

“Everyone wants to better themselves, everyone is ambitious.

“I say to my players ‘I don’t want you playing League Two all your lives’ and I don’t want to be managing in League Two all my life so I have to do well [at Pools].

“I will spend all my time and do my utmost to try to get Hartlepool as high up as I can.

“If I do that then I will be linked with jobs, that is the nature of the business.”