BLACKBURN Rovers today shot down fresh speculation linking them with a double swoop for Sunderland duo Kevin Phillips and Gavin McCann.

Several sources have tried to claim in the last 24 hours that Phillips and McCann are both heading for Ewood this summer.

But Rovers chief executive John Williams insists neither player features prominently on Graeme Souness's hit-list as he looks to freshen up his squad in preparation for an assault on Europe next season.

Rovers have been linked with Phillips in the past and Souness WAS interested in the England striker around the time he forked out £7.5 million for Andy Cole 18 months ago.

But it would take a dramatic change of circumstances for the Rovers boss to revive his interest in a player who is desperate to rediscover the form which made him one of the hottest properties in the Premiership just a couple of seasons ago.

Phillips has already expressed his desire to quit Sunderland this summer following the Black Cats' relegation to the Nationwide League.

However, the Wearsiders are demanding a fee in the region of £4 million for a player who will celebrate his 30th birthday next month -- and that is likely to make him too expensive for Rovers.

"We have not made any contact with Sunderland and it's highly unlikely that we will make a bid for Kevin Phillips," said Williams today.

Souness is currently light on strikers after deciding against a move for Hakan Sukur.

But the Rovers boss is hoping Matt Jansen will be ready to stake his claim for a first team return at the start of next season.

As I understand it, Souness would only move in for Phillips if Aston Villa were to come in with a tempting offer for Dwight Yorke, which is highly unlikely.

As for McCann, Souness did consider a move for the Sunderland midfielder 12 months ago but, now that Garry Flitcroft has signed a new contract, the Rovers boss has more pressing priorities.

Meanwhile, Birmingham City have come up with an alternative proposal in their attempts to land Rovers midfielder David Dunn.

The Blues held further talks with Rovers yesterday and suggested a different way of restructuring their £5.5 million bid for the England star.

But their latest offer still fails to satisfy Rovers' requirements and further discussions are planned in the next 24 hours.

Elsewhere, Republic of Ireland boss Brian Kerr decided not to risk Damien Duff in last night's Euro 2004 group 10 qualifier with Georgia in Dublin.

Duff was struggling with a knee injury sustained in the narrow weekend win over Albania at the weekend.

The Republic camp gave him until the last possible minute to prove his fitness but in the end Kerr chose not to risk his star man and it proved to be a wise decision as the team still won 2-0 in his absence.

Millwall midfielder Steven Reid -- a summer transfer target for Rovers -- was an unused substitute.