MARK Hughes has called on football's governing bodies to investigate the idea of awarding a Champions League place to the winners of the FA Cup.

The Blackburn manager, who has led Rovers to two FA Cup semi-finals in the last three seasons, believes the radical plan would help to sex up the game in England and lead to more healthy competition.

At present, the four Champions League spots in England are awarded to the top four sides in the Premier League, which, invariably, has been Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal in recent seasons.

However, Hughes has called on the Football Association to consider the possibility of allocating one of those places to the Cup winners instead, believing it would not only help to break the big four's dominance, but ultimately give clubs like Rovers something more to aspire to.

"For teams outside the top four it's a great thought," said the Rovers chief.

"Whether or not it's correct morally, I'm not so sure because you could possibly see a situation where you play no-one, end up getting to a Cup final, have a good day at Wembley, and then get a Champions League place.

"I just think you have to give the opportunity to teams who wouldn't normally be able to get in the Champions League at least a glimmer of hope because, at the moment, it's less than a glimmer.

"So I don't see why they shouldn't look at it, but then I'm just looking at it purely from a personal point of view, because it's maybe an easier route than 38 League games."

Aside from Everton securing a Champions League place in 2005, the big four' have dominated the Premiership in recent years, creating a virtuous circle of wealth which has widened the financial gap between them and the other 16 member clubs.

That is why Hughes is calling for a place to be given to the Cup winners, because he believes it would give clubs like Rovers a better chance of qualifying for Europe's premier competition.

However, with the big four' also dominant in the FA Cup as well - Everton were the last team outside of that exclusive group to win it in 1995 - such a plan may ultimately lead to little change.

Hughes added: "If we were to reach the Champions League, I think it would raise the whole profile of the club, the players - of everybody.

"You want to be able to test yourself against the best European clubs and, at the moment, that is being denied us.

"In saying that, the UEFA Cup is an exceptional competition this year and we could find ourselves up against top teams."