Roberts revenge a timely message for two managers

In deciding this Lancashire derby with a 90th-minute solo effort four years to the day he was sold by Megson following a 'girlie tiff ', the unhappy Blackburn striker enabled Hughes's side to prevail over the no-nonsense style that Sam Allardyce perfected at Bolton.

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With the Welshman's name making its way towards the top of Newcastle's wanted list, it was a timely win for Hughes on Allardyce's old stomping ground. Significantly, he later refused to rule himself out of the running to succeed Big Sam.

"There hasn't been any contact with me," said Hughes. "I don't know if the chairman has had any, but I've just seen him and he hasn't mentioned it.

"I've got a good club and I'm proud to be manager of Blackburn, but in football you can never say never. Sometimes things get taken out of your hands. It's not easy when there's speculation surrounding your position, but maybe it's better that it's good speculation rather than speculation that you could be losing your job. I know which one I'd choose.

"Speculation isn't something I try to generate — I'm not into self-promotion. It just happens as a consequence of being a football manager. There's nothing I can do about it. It's a situation I'm comfortable with. I've got great support from the chairman and the board and that isn't something you give up lightly. It's out of my hands."

Those final words were also uttered by Roberts yesterday as he was asked to clarify his future. The striker has been frustrated by his lack of opportunities behind Benni McCarthy, Roque Santa Cruz and Matt Derbyshire, but Blackburn have refused to listen to his transfer demands.

Roberts made a point to Rovers and any suitors yesterday after coming on as 77th-minute substitute for the ineffective McCarthy.

Latching on to a flick from Santa Cruz on the halfway line, he beat Kevin Nolan to the ball, evaded Kevin Davies and swept past Gavin McCann on a surging run to the edge of the box where he avoided Joey O'Brien's challenge to power a shot past Jussi Jaaskelainen.

"I was really hungry to get out there and show everyone just what I can do," said Roberts.

"I'm ready to play — I have been for a while — and I'm trying to put more pressure on the manager. I asked for a transfer recently but it's out of my hands."

With Bolton boss Megson looking for a striker after selling Nicolas Anelka to Chelsea for £15million, he was asked mischievously if he might consider re-signing the player he sold to Portsmouth from West Bromwich four years ago.

"I don't know what the position is with Jason in terms of our relationship," said Megson.

"We had a little bit of a girlie tiff at West Bromwich. The thing we used to disagree on was the way each of us saw him playing football. The way I saw it was the way he scored today. Once he gets away I don't think there are many in this division as strong as him. It was as good a goal as you'll see all season."

If Megson could have no complaints about the winner, he was far from happy about the way Blackburn cancelled out Nolan's spectacular opener.

The Bolton skipper lit up a scrappy first half when Joey O'Brien's cross reached him wide on the left two minutes before half-time, shaping his body perfectly to send a rightfoot volley over Brad Friedel.

But Jaaskelainen became busier as the game wore on and Blackburn equalised in the 53rd minute when Chris Samba lost Lubomir Michalik to meet David Bentley's corner with a downward header which bounced over Joey O'Brien on the line.

Santa Cruz, Bentley and Morten Gamst Pedersen also went close for Blackburn before Roberts stole the show.

'He's a little bit unhappy with the opportunities he's had but he's been hampered by injuries and possibly needed to be a little bit more patient,' said Hughes. 'His future is still very much with Blackburn. Whether the same can be said of the boss remains to be seen.