Five man shortlist

Simon Grayson - thought to have been interviewed

Joe Royle seems to have ruled himself out but all the other candidates from a week ago all seem to be in the frame. Peter Reid and Mike Newell are both still believed to be keen with suggestions that Newell has already been interviewed along with Blackpool's Simon Grayson.

Operations Director Brendan Flood admitted yesterday that the club were still speaking to Sheffield Wednesday regarding the situation with Brian Laws and it is clear that we are very keen to speak to the former Claret who has been at Hillsborough for a year since leaving Scunthorpe.

This morning's news suggest that Yeovil's Russell Slade is about to sign a new deal with the League One club whilst St. Johnstone's Owen Coyle claims to know nothing about the speculation.

Then there's Micky Phelan. His name won't go away despite strong suggestions that he wouldn't be interested in leaving his role as first team coach at Manchester United and today Darren Ferguson's name has been mentioned. He's been in charge at Peterborough for just a few months.

The board will be working hard over the weekend and it is thought that there will be a new appointment by Wednesday at the latest with recent comments suggesting it could be even earlier.