ROY Hodgson has been tipped as a possible target for leading Swiss club Grasshoppers of Zurich, whose manager is also under pressure.

Speculation in the Swiss Press says the Blackburn Rovers boss is their top target and expects developments soon.

But Ewood chief executive John Williams said today that Rovers had not been contacted and he knew nothing of the reports.

A Swiss newspaper, however, has carried three separate stories claiming Grasshoppers are lining up Hodgson as a candidate to take over from Ralf Fringer.

And a 3-1 defeat by Grasshoppers' main title rivals Servette, of Geneva, at the weekend has put even more pressure on Fringer, as the Zurich club are several points adrift of the pace.

Hodgson, who was unavailable to comment on the reports today, has a sky-high reputation in Switzerland.

He made an impression with Neuchatel Xamax before going on to enjoy great success as coach of the national side.

It remains to be seen whether the stories are merely more speculation or if Grasshoppers have serious intentions of making an Ewood approach. "I haven't seen these stories and they have certainly not been in official contact with the club," said Williams today.

Hodgson is putting all his energies into Rovers' relegation fight at the moment and he pointed to the blunders that cost the team at Old Trafford on Saturday.

He did not derive any pleasure either from a fightback that left United hanging on at 3-2.

"I take no satisfaction from it whatsoever. I don't think we should have been 3-0 down and we should not have been playing with 10 men," he said.

"We made two very bad errors in the first half which cost us two goals. Apart from that the play between the two penalty areas was relatively even.

An outstanding performance by Rovers under-19s saw them overwhelm Manchester United 5-1 in the Academy League at Brockhall.

It was the strongest side Rovers have been able to muster for some time and they turned in a top-class display, Gary Hamilton grabbing a first-half hat-trick. United pulled one back just before the interval but goals from Craig Woodfield and Paul Forsyth wrapped things up for Rovers.

There was no joy for the under-17s who were beaten 2-0 by United in a close game.

Around 5,000 fans watched the "beamback" of the Manchester United-Rovers game on Ewood's giant screen on Saturday. The crowd comprised some 4,000 season-ticket holders, who were admitted free, and about 1,000 who bought tickets.

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