BLACKBURN Rovers were today hoping that their bid to sign Coventry's Dion Dublin would not be gazumped by Premiership rivals.

Rovers have already made Dublin a "very good offer" after agreeing a £6.75 million fee with Coventry yesterday and Highfield Road chairman Bryan Richardson has boosted their hopes of having the field to themselves.

Richardson said last night: "It is a closed bid by Blackburn. There are no counter bids, no-one else has come in."

Speculation today, however, claimed that Newcastle and Sheffield Wednesday were also in the hunt.

And it is still being suggested that there could be an un-named club ready to emerge as serious contenders.

That might also be the work of agents.

Wednesday are unlikely to have the cash to afford Dublin's fee and wages, but Newcastle are rated by Tyneside sources as serious challengers for the player.

If they were to join the race, it could be a serious blow to Rovers' hopes.

Rovers, however, remain positive about the situation and are hoping to hear from the player very soon. But it's a situation which could change by the hour and manager Roy Hodgson has already warned that the club would not break their wage structure to sign the player.

"We have met Dion and his representatives and they went away with what we think is a very good offer," said Ewood chief executive John Williams.

"Roy also had long and very positive talks with the player about the football side of things.

"As far as we are concerned, the only bid that has been accepted by Coventry is our own.

"All the discussions we have had have been very positive and we are hoping for an early reply. But we will be pro-active.

"I do not know officially that there is anybody else in the race. All I know is that we have had our offer accepted by Coventry." Rovers reiterated their stance on Chris Sutton today following speculation that Spurs are about to launch a multi-million pound bid and that Aston Villa remained interested. Williams stressed that there had been no bids and Sutton, simply, was not for sale.

Meanwhile, Hodgson is trying to prepare for a game he could have done without - tonight's Worthington Cup third round tie against Crewe at Gresty Road.

With his squad badly hit by injuries and a Premiership game against Wimbledon on Saturday, Rovers could have done with a clear week.

But they also desperately need to beat Crewe and make progress in the League Cup and that will not be easy, even though they are also struggling in their division.

With a UEFA Cup place reserved for the eventual Wembley winners, few clubs can afford to take this tournament lightly, certainly not Rovers.

Four key players, however, face fitness tests before Hodgson can even think about assembling a side to face Crewe.

The manager was due to look at Chris Sutton, Tim Sherwood, Billy McKinlay and Jeff Kenna this afternoon. They were all regarded as doubtful. Sutton has had a slight reaction from his ankle injury, as well as suffering from a broken nose, Sherwood has stitches in a leg wound and both McKinlay and Kenna have niggling groin problems.

If they are not fit, Hodgson will have all sorts of problems. Rovers' starting line-up is likely to come from: Flowers, Kenna, Henchoz, Peacock, Davidson, Johnson, Sherwood, McKinlay, Duff, Davies, Sutton, Dailly, Croft, Taylor, Dunn.

But they might yet have to add untried players to plug the gaps. Crewe are threatening to make several changes but manager Dario Gradi will not reveal his plans. Big summer signing Rodney Jack could be axed in the wake of a poor run of results.

Crewe are expected to choose from: Kearton, Bignot, Smith, Unsworth, Walton, Charnock, J Wright, Johnson, Jack, Anthrobus, Rivers, Little, Lunt, Wicks, Lightfoot, D Wright, Welsby.

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