IT'S been a great few days to be a Blackburn fan!

First, we beat Chelsea to confirm our return to Europe.

Then, 24 hours later, comes the news that Mark Hughes has agreed to sign a new deal.

If I was John Williams then I'd be making sure I buy a lottery ticket this weekend because, after the last few days he's had, his numbers are bound to come up.

Qualifying for the UEFA Cup is a great reward for nine months of hard work, but the icing on the cake for me is the news about Sparky and his contract.

I'm sure plenty of Premiership chairmen have been watching what Mark has achieved at Rovers with envious eyes this season.

In my opinion, leading a club like Blackburn to sixth place in the Premiership is a far greater achievement than Chelsea winning the title, so it's no surprise that Mark has already been linked with a number of top jobs during his short time as a club manager.

It was with relief then that I heard the fantastic news he's committed himself to the club until 2009.

All clubs need stability to move forwards and Mark's decision to accept a three-year deal tells me that he wants to stay and finish the job he's started.

In football, it's the players who usually make all the headlines and you live and die by their success or failure.

But the most important signing a chairman ever makes is the manager and, in Hughes, Rovers have one of the best up and coming bosses in the Premier League.

The one quality that shines out with Mark is his man-management.

Because it's not long since he was a player himself, he seems to know exactly what makes players tick.

It's not always easy to make the transition from player to manager, but Mark appears to have done that seamlessly, judging by the way the players have responded to him.

He's not a ranter and raver, yet you get the impression he can be stern when he needs to be.

In contrast, his predecessor, Graeme Souness, often used to mouth off to the press to deflect the focus away from his own deficiencies, and I know from experience that players grow tired of that after a while.

As a result, Graeme repeatedly fell out with people, which led to disharmony in the dressing room.

But there's no such problems with the current squad; in fact, the team spirit Mark has fostered has been one of the key ingredients in the side's success this season.

After setting such high standards, it's going to be tough for Rovers to improve next season, but if anyone can take them onto that next level then it's Mark.

With a European campaign set to place greater demands on the squad, reinforcements will be needed this summer and I'd like to see Sparky sign a new striker and a left-back.

For now, though, let's celebrate a fantastic achievement. Mine's a pint if anyone's buying!

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