Lucas Neill will return from Australia on Friday to find an improved contract offer waiting for him as Blackburn manager Mark Hughes makes another attempt to keep his captain at Ewood Park.

Neill, who on Wednesday played for the Socceroos in a 2-0 Asian Cup victory over Bahrain, claimed in a recent interview with an Australian newspaper he was willing to see out the final year of his current deal and leave Rovers.

"Clearly we want him to stay, and we've offered him an improved contract this week, which he's not had a chance to look at, so there's still work to be done," said Hughes. "Ideally, we would like Lucas to be signed up for the next three to four years. But that won't happen in the short term."