Yates set for return

Although it is not necessarily someone he has had previous connections with the likelihood is that it will be and that narrows it down to five.

He played in the same Brighton side as Kurt Nogan and played alongside Ian Cox for Bournemouth before both Neil Howarth and Mark Yates played in the Cheltenham side he managed.

More recently, when he was number two at Sunderland, Kevin Ball joined the coaching staff and is still there.

The favourite is Mark Yates, who joined the Clarets early in the 4^th Division promotion season of 1991/92 from Birmingham. He was Frank Casper’s last ever signing as Burnley manager.

He scored on his debut at Doncaster but never established himself in the side and was at Turf Moor for just two seasons. He’d spent two loan spells away from Burnley during his last season, at Lincoln and then Kidderminster.

He signed for Doncaster during the summer of 1993 and from there moved on to Kidderminster before signing for Cheltenham where he linked up with Steve Cotterill during their climb up the leagues.

It was only when former Burnley coach John Ward moved in at Whaddon Road last season that Yates’ time at Cheltenham came to an end and he made a return to Kidderminster.

Jan Molby reluctantly released him at the end of the season but said he could come back and train with them if he wasn’t fixed up.

But there are strong hints that he will be fixed up and that he could be one of the coaching staff at a new look Turf Moor as Cotterill puts his own backroom team together.