Former England midfielder Paul Ince was named as the Blackburn Rovers manager yesterday, the English Premier League club said on their website.

Ince, 40, signed a three-year contract to replace former Manchester United team-mate Mark Hughes who quit Ewood Park earlier this month. He is the league's first English black manager.

Frenchman Jean Tigana, with Fulham, and Ruud Gullit, with Chelsea and Newcastle United, are the only other two black managers to have managed in the Premier League.

Ince, who also played for Liverpool and Inter, led Milton Keynes Dons to the League Two (fourth division) title in his first season in charge this year after starting his full managerial career at Macclesfield Town.

Last week the Premier League allowed Blackburn to approach Ince despite his failure to hold a UEFA Pro Licence.

Under league regulations, coaches are required to have the qualification but having previously given dispensations to Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate and former Chelsea boss Avram Grant, Ince will be given two years to earn his licence.

Ince, who won 53 England caps, is the fourth member of Alex Ferguson's double winning United side of 1994 currently managing in the Premier League. As well as Hughes, former midfield partner Roy Keane is in charge of Sunderland while the league and cup winning captain Steve Bruce manages Wigan Athletic.

Ince will be officially presented as the former Premier League champions' manager tomorrow.

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