BLACKBURN Rovers' chairman John Williams recently celebrated 10 years at Ewood Park. In the second of an exclusive two-part interview with the Lancashire Telegraph, he tells Andy Neild his vision of the future for Rovers, and what direction he sees football heading in.

What does the future hold for Blackburn Rovers now? And is your biggest challenge to find the new Jack Walker?

I think it is but it's a really tricky area. If you were to get a hundred fans together, you'd probably get a hundred different answers on this issue. We clearly set out our stall when we made the board changes a couple of years ago saying that new investment - or a new owner - was on the agenda. It's not the sort of business where you hang a For Sale' sign out, and the pressure for selling has also changed. Because of the new television deal, we now have a stable business going forward, and we also have an excellent squad - probably the best we've had for a long, long time - so I don't think there's any pressure on the existing owners to sell the club. But the only thing constant is change so you've got to keep moving and try and move to the next level if you can. The problem is the next level for us is regularly finishing in the top six, and really the top four, so we are looking for the next Roman Abramovich, which is a very difficult task.

Has anyone expressed an interest in buying Blackburn?

We have had a number of expressions of interests, both from home and abroad, and there have been preliminary meetings. But, ultimately, that decision will come down to the trustees, who are the shareholders. As I said, to move the club from here to the next level is going to need a very serious investment and that would take a very special type of owner.

How far down the line have those talks gone?

I don't want to set any hares running but, clearly, we are alive to the situation. Premier League football clubs are rare - there are only 20 of them - and only a limited number are available. Blackburn Rovers would be available if the right quality of owner, in terms of financial clout and wishes for the club, were to step forward. It is difficult for the seller to demand of a buyer you must do this, and you must do that'. But I think the current owners realise they have a duty of care to the club. By the same token, they also realise that everything moves on, and it might be time for them to move the club on. However, they would want to do it in a way that was right for the next generation of fans. There has been interest and preliminary discussions have taken place, but we haven't gone any further than that as yet.

There has been some concern in the media about the number of Premiership clubs falling into foreign hands. Would that bother you at all if Blackburn became one of them?

I stand by what I said. I don't think nationality itself is an issue. I think it's more about the quality of the purchaser, and the direction in which they wish to take the club.

When you are involved in making big decisions that affect the club, is it always in the back of your mind is that what Jack Walker would have wanted?

Yes. But I'm not the owner of the club, and I don't own the shares. I was very fortunate to get quite close to Jack in a relatively short period of time so I always try to do my best by him. But I also think we can rely on the trustees, most of whom were also close to Jack in different ways. They know it's an awesome responsibility that they have, and I'm delighted in some ways that the financial pressures at least seem to be off them. There's no pressing need to sell, which I hope will mean if we do find the right entity or person to buy the club, we are in a better position to make the right choice.

What do you think the biggest challenge facing football is right now? Is it making the game more affordable to the working classes?

I think there's a cold wind blowing through the game right now. That's clearly not evident with the top four clubs, who are growing their capacities. At the moment, the product just goes from strength to strength, but everything has its cycles and I think we have to be pro-active in terms of doing things on a club-by-club basis, as well as a league basis, to make sure we give greater longevity. Football has grown spectacularly well, hence the value of the new TV deal, so we are obviously doing something right. Having said that, one of my favourite business sayings is by the time you see the bandwagon coming, it's too late'. I think we need to start making adjustments now, and price adjustment is one, in order to make sure there's another good 10 years in the future.

Rovers have been praised, and quite rightly so, for taking a bold stance on the reduction of ticket prices for next season. But do you feel you could have acted sooner, or do you think you did everything you possibly could to help improve attendances?

The cynics will say John Williams is not stupid, he's not giving anything back, he's a businessman and this is, to quote the jargon, a price/volume experiment'. I'm not Robin Hood, and I don't claim to be robbing from the rich to give to the poor, or anything like that. What I do say is this. My personal belief is football is too expensive. Despite the growth in wages of the ordinary man's pay packet, when you look at the indices of his mortgage and electric bills, and the cost of his holiday, I think watching 90 minutes of football is too expensive. I look at many fans, I see them home and away, and I see them bringing their kids, and the amount of their disposable income that is going on football is heartening and frightening at the same time. So, yes, I think it's too dear and this has now been brought into focus because even those who can afford it are beginning to query the value. You've got the changing kick-off times, the procession that the league is, over exposure on television, and other things as well. From a pure business decision, coupled with the increased money that we've got, this is the right time to really test whether price is one of the key drivers in attendance. If, in 12 months' time it still hasn't helped to increase volume, I will still regard it as the right and proper thing to do on moral grounds, if you like, because I'll be happier that our fans are paying a more reasonable and more realistic price.

What does the future hold for you personally?

Who knows? I don't have any real long-term thoughts about that. Ten years is a fair old time and I feel as though we've tried to carry on with the vision that Jack wanted. I'm not saying that it's job done. I'll be here for the current owners as long as they want me. Beyond that, I really can't say. But I'd love to join the Barmy Army on a cricket tour somewhere.

And what do you hope you will be remembered for?

Hopefully someone who was able to get the club through a difficult period after Jack died. I think a bit like referees, chairmen and boards of directors should be seen and not heard. The game is about players and my style has been about trying to be quietly effective, rather than seeking headlines. When I'm an old man, sat in the corner of some pub, trying to tell someone I was once the chairman of Blackburn Rovers, I suspect they will never believe me. I think together with the other directors and senior managers, we've done a decent job. I think the two big decisions - the appointments of Graeme Souness and Mark Hughes - we got right. Whether that was good judgement, or we just got lucky, it doesn't matter. The fact is we made the right decisions. It's been an interesting 10-year journey and I think the best thing we've done as a board during that time was appoint Mark because he has been outstanding. He is incredibly responsible and financially intelligent as well. I don't have to have toe-to-toe arguments with him, but at the same time, I don't want Mark to become compliant, I want him to be challenging. When he pushes me, it challenges me more to get this balance between heart and head right.