THEY say that only two things are guaranteed in life - death and taxes.

However, if you'd have asked me six months ago, I would have added a third to that list: that Robbie Savage would remain a Blackburn Rovers player for as long as Mark Hughes occupied the Ewood Park hotseat.

When Hughes took charge of Rovers in September 2004, his first major signing was Savage, the man he considered to be the heartbeat of the Welsh national team during his time as manager.

In fact, the Rovers boss was even prepared to sacrifice any relationship he had with his former Manchester United team-mate, Steve Bruce, in order to persuade Savage to sever his ties with Birmingham City, and head north up the M6.

Why? Because Sparky felt his fellow Welshman's combative qualities were exactly what Rovers needed, at a time when the team faced a desperate battle to avoid relegation to the Champ-ionship.

But now three years on, both Hughes and Rovers appear to have moved on, and suddenly Savage finds himself the odd man out.

To be honest, I'm surprised, but not particularly disappointed to see Savage heading for the Ewood exit door, because I was never his biggest fan in the first place.

There were times in games when he looked like a headless chicken, and it took a while for the fans to properly warm to him.

But, to be fair to the lad, he still brought certain qualities to the side that were desperately needed in those early days, and he was one of the reasons why we stayed up with something to the spare at the end of Sparky's first season in charge.

However, in the two years since then, I feel the team has evolved, to the point where we perhaps now need something different in midfield in order to move to the next level.

In Steven Reid and Aaron Mokoena, Mark has two central midfield players who can play the Savage role, but possibly better than the man himself.

Both Reid and Mokoena are considerably younger than Sav and, in my view, they both have more to their games from a technical point of view as well.

It is perhaps with that in mind that Hughes has now decided he can afford to let the 33-year-old Savage go, whilst he still has a decent market value.

I'm sure if Sav was being honest, even he would admit he hasn't been quite the same player since he broke his leg at Watford 12 months ago.

In his prime, Robbie was a fierce competitor who was never afraid to make his presence felt, usually by leaving opponents flat on their backsides.

But, for me, he's looked a little bit tentative in that respect whenever I've seen him this season, which is perfectly understandable given everything he has been through.

Once you've suffered a bad injury like he did, I don't care who you are, it's always going to be in the back of your mind.

Wherever Robbie ends up moving, I'd just like to wish him all the best for the future.

I know he was never one for the purists, but I don't think anyone could dispute the fact he always gave one hundred per cent for the cause whenever he pulled on a Blackburn shirt.

For that reason alone, he deserves our respect.