David Young has ruled himself out of the running to take charge of Leicester because he wants to help Cardiff Blues, who have made the knock-out stages of the EDF Energy Cup and the Heineken Cup this season, break their trophy duck.

Young has coached the Blues since their formation in 2003 and has helped them grow from also-rans to a side that has yet to lose in the EDF or Europe this season, which is why the Tigers wanted to him in the frame to replace Heyneke Meyer as head coach at Welford Road.

"It is flattering to be linked to a club like Leicester but I have unfinished business with the Blues," said Young, a former Wales captain who is the only player to have toured with the Lions in three different decades.

"It was difficult when I started because money was tight and we were not good enough to challenge for trophies. There were calls for my head but Sir Alex Ferguson would not have won the Champions League last season with Derby County's squad. That would not have made him a bad manager."

The Blues face Northampton in the EDF Energy Cup semi-final in Coventry on Saturday. "I want to look back on my time with the Blues with pride," said Young. "I am only 41 and have a number of years in the game ahead of me.

"We are never going to compete with the likes of Stade Français and Toulouse financially and it is unrealistic to say that we will be in the Heineken Cup final every year but we have built a strong squad and our aim has to be to consistently make the knock-out stages.

"We are moving in the right direction but we are nowhere near the finished article yet. I am totally committed to the Blues and I have a good relationship with the chairman and the board. We have been through some tough times and the next couple of years promise to be very exciting."

The Wales No8 Andy Powell will not face Northampton because of a thigh injury that may rule him out of the Heineken Cup quarter-final against Toulouse next month, while the Wales flanker Martyn Williams will not train this week but is likely to play against the Saints.

"We will go into the game a bit cold because we have hardly played in the last couple of months but Northampton had a tough game at London Irish on Sunday and may be fatigued," said Young. "Ideally we would have been able to get a game in before the semi-final but we knew the score at the start of the season and have to get on with it."