SAM Allardyce has spoken of his desire to return to management in the Premier League.

And despite mounting protests from Blackburn supporters, he is confident that he can take Rovers, or any other club, "onto the next level".

Over 2000 fans have joined a petition on the internet's Facebook website against the appointment of the former Newcastle and Bolton boss.

But the 53-year-old has brushed that criticism aside and is adamant that his record is better than any manager outwith Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.

He said: "At every club I've ever been at, from the earliest days in Ireland with Limerick, I've always taken them forwards and Newcastle was just an unfortunate experience.

"The break was unexpected and I would have preferred it wouldn't have happened, but sometimes you need that to recharge the batteries.

"Now I feel I'm ready for that chance and I'm comfortable knowing that when people do look at my record in the Premier League it stands comparison with the best."

Allardyce remains one of the favourites for the Ewood Park vacancy, but one outside candidate, Swansea City's Roberto Martinez, has moved to rule himself out of the running.

Martinez was reportedly on a shortlist alongside Allardyce, Paul Ince and Steve McClaren.

But he said: "I don't have any intention of leaving.

"My aim is to get Swansea City to the Premier League, not manage a different club there."

Rovers chairman John Williams has already said that discussions will take place this week in a bid to, hopefully, have the new man in place by the weekend.

And he re-iterated that stance.

"We will stage a number of meetings over the next few days," he said.

"As I've stated throughout, there has always been a process and I want to be as thorough as possible.

"I'm determined to get as much information as I possibly can, and that process is still on-going."