Ewood Beat

ALAN MAHON today explained why he turned down a clutch of First Division clubs to drop from the Premiership into the Second Division with Cardiff City.

The Blackburn Rovers midfielder joined the Bluebirds last week on a three month loan deal after snubbing a number of offers from more high-profile clubs, including Burnley and Coventry.

But the Republic of Ireland international insists it was the prospect of being part of a promotion push which persuaded him to drop two Divisions.

"I could have gone to a First Division club but Cardiff is a club with a lot of ambition," said Mahon.

"It's a club that doesn't want to hang about.

"I could have joined a club that was happy to sit in mid-table in the First Division but in my opinion joining Cardiff is far more exciting.

"I would rather join a club that's pushing for promotion. I tasted promotion at Blackburn when we went from the First Division to the Premiership two years ago and it's a fantastic thing to be involved in."

Mahon made his Bluebirds debut as a second half substitute in last week's 1-0 defeat at Huddersfield.

And he's already settling into life in South Wales.

"Coming to Cardiff is a great challenge and I don't see why people should be surprised by the fact I've turned down First Division clubs to come here.

"There's a great set-up at Cardiff now.

"I really believe playing for Cardiff is far more of a challenge.

"I've had a long time to think about the decision and I'm confident I've made the right decision.

"I was impressed with the manager, Lennie Lawrence, and Sam Hammam, the club owner.

"It was those two who convinced me to sign for the club.

"In fact, I was swayed after the very first phone call I had from Mr Hammam.

"He didn't pull any punches. He told me where he thought the club should be going.

"I was happy with what he told me."

City have signed Mahon with a view to making his stay at Ninian Park a more permanent one in the summer.

And the 24-year-old admits a move to South Wales may well appeal if everything was to work out over the next couple of months.

Mahon, a £1.5m signing from Sporting Lisbon 18 months ago, has failed to pin down a regular starting place at Rovers this term, where he's found himself competing for a place with fellow countryman Damien Duff.

So maybe a fresh start could be just what he needs to get his career back on track after being consigned to the reserves.

"It's been very frustrating at Blackburn," said Mahon.

"It's always frustrating when you're not playing. I'm sick of playing in the reserves.

"Players train all week with the aim of playing in the first team on Saturday. That hasn't been happening for me recently.

"But now that's going to change.

"Now I've got something to look forward to at the end of the week.

"I can't wait for Saturdays now. This move to Cardiff has really lifted me.

"I need to start playing again but I'm still a young boy.

"Yes, there is the possibility of staying with Cardiff but at the moment I've signed for three months.

"I want to play as well as I can for Cardiff, hopefully win promotion with them and then we'll see what happens."

Dunning's a dream

ON-LOAN midfielder Darren Dunning has been earning some rave reviews at Macclesfield Town just two weeks after completing his loan move from Blackburn Rovers.

Dunning churned out another five star performance last weekend against Exeter City following on from his excellent debut against Bournemouth the weekend before, and the Silkmen faithful have taken an immediate shine to the 22-year-old.

Dunning is relishing his return to first team football and aims to make the most of it.

He said: "First team football has come as a welcome boost for me. I'm really enjoying myself.

"When you play for Blackburn Rovers you know that your chances are going to be limited due to the amount of quality around.

"I intend to make the most of this opportunity."

He's also had no problem in settling into the side.

"They are a good bunch of lads here. The fact that I already knew Steve Hitchen and Lee Hardy also helped."

The Macclesfield fans are eager to keep hold of the dynamic youngster and hope he can stay on for longer than he's proposed one month stint.

However, Dunning added: "It's inevitable that I'll have to think about the future.

"But for now I'm concentrating on my performance and picking up results for Macclesfield.

"There's a lot of quality in this squad with players such as Danny Whitaker, Neil Ross and Kyle Lightbourne and our league position does not reflect how good this team really is."

Ladies cup run ended by Brum

IT was fun while it lasted but Blackburn Rovers Ladies' glorious FA Cup run has come to an end following a heavy 7-2 defeat at Premier League Birmingham City.

Rovers certainly captured the romance of the cup as victories against Bangor City and Middlesbrough took them in to the fifth round for the first time in their history.

But although the Blues brought them crashing back down to earth with a heavy thump, manager Marek Walsh was obviously very proud of his girls.

He said: "We looked threatening throughout the game and had our fair share of opportunities against a side full of England internationals.

"The girls' heads didn't drop once and they made a real effort to get back into the game -- while Birmingham are obviously a quality side, 7-2 doesn't paint a true picture of just how well we performed."

Birmingham stamped their class on the game against a Rovers side who play in the Northern Combination and raced to a 5-0 lead.

Keeper Jenny Horrocks produced a string of fine saves to keep the score down before Rovers launched a mini revival that put them right back in contention.

Captain and leading scorer Justine Wallace hit back with a clever lob before scoring a second following some good play by Nisha Bateman to cut the gap to 5-2.

But hopes of a fightback were soon extinguished and City hit two quick goals.

Gloves are on for Souey

GRAEME Souness seems to be well prepared for his imminent hearing with the FA over his sending off at Wigan in December.

"I've got my boxing gloves out of the cupboard for that one, and the cheque book!" he quipped during the press conference ahead of tomorrow's game at Aston Villa.

And he admitted he'd equipped himself with an army of backers.

"I've got some witnesses, I'm taking video evidence and I'm taking a barrister with me," he said.

"I'm being accused of everything I think - attempted murder, serious assault. But I'm hoping we can get the whole thing resolved.

"I don't want to talk about it too much because I don't want to inflame anything so, we'll see what happens."