By DPA,
London : Paul Ince was named as the new manager of Blackburn Rovers.
Ince, the former England, Manchester United and Liverpool midfielder, has agreed to a three-year contract, filling the vacancy created by the departure of Mark Hughes, who left to take over at Manchester City earlier this month.
“Blackburn Rovers can today announce that Paul Ince has been appointed the new manager of the football club,” the club said in a statement on its website Sunday. “Ince has signed a three-year contract.”
For the 40-year-old Ince, his appointment continues his meteoric rise through the managerial ranks.
After keeping Macclesfield Town in the Football League in his first year as a manager, Ince left to take over at MK Dons and won the League Two title last season.
The lure of a Premier League job, it seems, was too big to turn down and Ince will be officially unveiled as the new manager at a press conference on Tuesday.
Ince got the job ahead of a long list of candidates, including former Bolton manager Sam Allardyce and former England manager Steve McClaren, now with FC Twente in Holland.
Ince, self-titled “The Guv’nor” in his playing days, was a combative midfielder who won 53 England caps.
He began his career with West Ham United before joining United, and later played for Inter Milan, Liverpool, and Middlesbrough, among others.
Ince does not yet hold the required UEFA Pro Licence needed to manage a Premier League club, but the Premier League has given him dispensation, allowing him two years to earn his licence.
Ince is also only the third black man to manage in the Premier League, after Ruud Gullit (Chelsea and Newcastle United) and Jean Tigana (Fulham).