The Simon Garner column

MARK Hughes's reputation has come under the microscope this week following a disappointing end to his career as an international manager.

But Wales' loss could ultimately turn out to be Blackburn Rovers' gain as Hughes seeks to repair his tarnished image in the game.

The critics have been quick to attack him following the back-to-back defeats against England and Poland.

But those who are pointing the accusing fingers have conveniently forgotten all the good work that's gone before it.

When Hughes was appointed in 1999, Wales were a laughing stock in world football.

Even their own countrymen were reluctant to pull on the red jersey and the national team often played in front of crowds of less than 10,000.

Then Hughes took charge and dragged the Welsh FA kicking and screaming into the 21st century by bringing a whole new professionalism into the national team.

It took a while for his new ideas to be accepted, but once they were, Wales started to flourish.

At one point, the national team went on a 10-game unbeaten run, which included a 2-1 victory against Italy in a Euro 2004 qualifier.

But Welsh dreams of a first major finals appearance since 1958 then evaporated when they were beaten by Russia in a Euro 2004 play-off.

Now four games into their World Cup qualifying campaign and Wales are struggling again but perhaps the critics should be looking at the dearth of talent coming through the ranks rather than any failings on the manager's part.

At the end of the day, Hughes is a fiercely proud individual and no-one will be hurting more than him following the events of the last week or so.

But I'm sure he's now more determined than ever to make a success of his first managerial job in the Premiership and that's where Rovers can reap the benefits.

Ironically, he's probably got a better squad to work with at Blackburn than the one he had with Wales.

At Rovers, everyone in the first team squad is a Premiership player. You can't say the same about the Welsh squad, barring one or two outstanding individuals.

So let's hope Sparky gets over his disappointment quickly and starts reminding the knockers just what a great young manager he is.

A win against Middlesbrough tomorrow would go a long way towards repairing the damage of the last few days.