SUNDERLAND boss Mick McCarthy last night emerged as a surprise contender for the vacant managerial position at Blackburn.

Rovers officials are currently sifting through more than 20 applications as they weigh up their options in the light of Graeme Souness' decision to join Newcastle this week.

But, while the likes of Glenn Hoddle and Dick Advocaat have applied for the post, Blackburn chief executive John Williams is refusing to rule out looking elsewhere for Souness' successor.

Wales manager Mark Hughes is understood to be Rovers' preferred choice, but sources in Lancashire have revealed that McCarthy's name has also been discussed.

And bookmakers Reuben Page reported a flood of bets that saw McCarthy trimmed to 9-1 sixth favourite for the job yesterday.

The former Republic of Ireland boss has suffered a poor start to the season at the Stadium of Light, with Sunderland having won just one of their first six Championship games.

But he remains one of the most highly-respected names in the game after guiding the Republic of Ireland to the second round of the World Cup and leading the Black Cats into last season's play-offs despite waving goodbye to more than 20 senior professionals the previous summer.

McCarthy has shown no desire to leave Wearside, laughing off summer speculation linking him with a possible move to South Korea.

But the prospect of a return to the Premiership would leave him in a difficult position given the financial constraints still being felt at Sunderland.

The Black Cats boss has been unable to sign a new frontman despite spending most of the summer tracking strikers, and the club's lack of cash could become more acute on Wednesday when they attend an FA tribunal to find out how much they must pay for three of their summer signings.

The hearing in Manchester will determine how much compensation Sunderland must pay Mansfield for playmaker Liam Lawrence, Oxford for fellow midfielder Dean Whitehead, and Manchester City for striker Stephen Elliott.

Sunderland were unable to come to an agreement with any of the three clubs this summer, but compensation is due as all three signings were under the age of 23 when they moved to Wearside.

Mansfield rejected Rotherham's bid of £175,000 for Lawrence last season, suggesting they expect to receive more than that, while Oxford will argue for a similar fee for Whitehead.

Manchester City are expected to demand more, given that Elliott made two Premiership appearances before leaving the City of Manchester Stadium and is now the Republic of Ireland Under-21s' record goalscorer following his goal in Tuesday night's 4-2 defeat in Switzerland.

The total fee is likely to exceed £1m and, while Sunderland received £2m for David Bellion following a similar hearing in October, a seven-figure sum would represent a significant blow to the Black Cats' finances.

Elliott might have taken his international tally to six goals in ten games on Tuesday, but the 20-year-old was left dejected as Switzerland ended a 13-match unbeaten run that stretched back to June last year.

"It was terrible and I don't know what went wrong, but it was some way to lose the unbeaten run," admitted Elliott, who has scored two goals for Sunderland since his summer move.

"We just never got going after giving them a present early on, and from then on it was always an uphill struggle.

"I'm not really too happy with my own performance. I could have done a lot better and I think everybody will think the same.

"It's nice to get the record, but I can't feel too happy about it at the moment because to lose like that was horrible. Maybe I'll think differently in the long run."