Blackburn will fight to stop Newcastle nicking Paul Ince

Blackburn last night vowed to fight tooth and nail to prevent Newcastle making an audacious swoop for Paul Ince.

The Rovers boss, in charge for only four games, is at the centre of an incredible tug-of-war between the two clubs after he was yesterday made a shock candidate to succeed Kevin Keegan.

Toon director of football Dennis Wise has put close friend Ince on the United shortlist with Spurs keen to hold on to favourite Gus Poyet.

But Blackburn privately maintain they will hold on to the man whose meteoric rise has made him one of the hottest properties in the Premier League.

Ince is keen to be at a club with stability and has only just persuaded star striker Roque Santa Cruz to sign a new contract at Ewood Park in the face of interest from moneybags Manchester City and Tottenham. He has also just finalised a pay-as-you-play deal to sign former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler.

But Ince's relationship with Wise stretches back to when the ex-Chelsea midfielder signed him as a player-coach at Swindon Town.

If Newcastle are to get their man, the club know they would have to cough up a massive compensation package.

Find out what our resident Premier League fan bloggers think - and let them know your views

Think you can outwit our Football Pools experts John Barnes, Tony Cascarino and Graham Poll? Then have a crack at the Football Pools

Follow every Premier League game live with our brilliant Match Tracker