ROVERS: An Oscar for Sven!

And that seems to be Blackburn Rovers' best chance of bringing the Swede to Ewood before the end of the season.

The Uruguayan, sacked three weeks ago by the Italian giants after an indifferent start to the season, is known to be a favourite of Sampdoria president Enrico Mantovani.

Like Eriksson, Tabarez is regarded as a gentleman in Serie A circles and highly respected as a coach despite his dismissal from the San Siro.

And speculation has mounted in Genoa during the last week that Tabarez is being lined up as the replacement for Eriksson.

The Swede will join Rovers when his contract with Sampdoria expires at the end of June or if a successor is appointed before that date. The biggest drawback to Rovers' hopes of an early arrival for the new boss could well be Sampdoria's current form.

Another excellent victory yesterday against second-placed Vicenza when Eriksson received a good reception from his home crowd.

That 2-1 victory was on the back of a 4-3 win over Roy Hodgson's Inter Milan last week and has lifted Sampdoria to fourth in Serie A.

It has also boosted belief that the club can mount a serious challenge to league leaders Juventus.

Mantovani may now be convinced that Sampdoria's best chance of sustaining the present form is by sticking with Eriksson.

"I see Tabarez as favourite to take over from Eriksson" said a Sampdoria source.

"But I find it impossible to believe it will happen before the end of this season. Eriksson is a gentleman and will honour his commitment to Sampdoria.

"And for as long as the team plays like they are now, Mantovani will leave Eriksson in charge." On the other hand, Tabarez may be unwilling to wait until next season to take charge of a Serie A side again.

If he goes elsewhere, another contender to succeed Eriksson is Giampiero Vintura, a native of Genoa and former Sampdoria youth team coach, who currently coaches Second Division leaders Lecce.

Eriksson's Ewood appointment has, not suprisingly, sparked speculation as to the sort of players the new man might want to bring in.

And Sunday newspapers yesterday suggested that David Platt could be in the running for a player-coach role at Ewood at some stage in the future. There is a lot of respect between Platt and Eriksson, from their time together in Genoa. But sources close to both parties played down the sort of story that will no doubt crop up repeatedly in weeks to come.

Another story claimed that Udinese's German international striker Oliver Bierhoff would now be not only willing but eager to join Rovers, following Eriksson's appointment.

Ray Harford failed to sign the striker in a £5 million deal earlier this season but if Bierhoff is now seriously interested, it shows how much difference a big-name appointment can make.

Meanwhile, Rovers had to train at the weekend, following Middlesbrough's shock decision to call off Saturday's fixture.

The club are still furious, and Tony Parkes said: "It's been very difficult in recent years to get games called off at all levels and the worry is that if the League don't hammer Middlesbrough it will happen again

"Whatever happens, we must not be left in a worse position than we were before Saturday."

While the ball is now in the Premier League's court, Rovers will scrutinise what happens over the hearing in the New Year.

And, if necessary, they will press their case all the way to be awarded the three points. Boro boss Bryan Robson, meanwhile, ordered those players who fell victim to a viral infection to stay away from the club. They are hoping to be able to field a team against Everton on Boxing Day.

The postponement gave Garry Flitcroft (ankle) extra time to recover before Thursday's sell-out clash with Newcastle but he remains doubtful.

Ewood secretary Tom Finn appealed to all fans with tickets from last Saturday to hold onto them until a decision was made about the Boro game.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.