Guardian
Burnley plan a beauty parade to find manager to succeed Owen Coyle• Burnley seek a 'young, hungry, winning manager'
• New man expected to be in place for trip to Old Trafford
Louise Taylor guardian.co.uk, Thursday 7 January 2010
Burnley hope to appoint Owen Coyle's successor in time for their trip to Manchester United on Saturday week. As lawyers today finalised the small print of the compensation package which must be agreed between Burnley and Bolton before Coyle can begin work at the Reebok Stadium, Turf Moor officials stepped up the hunt for a new manager.
Ideally he will be bright, youthful, up-and-coming and not entirely dissimilar to his predecessor. "As much as we are disappointed to lose Owen there are always young, hungry, winning managers out there who want to take on a challenge and make their names," said Burnley's chairman, Barry Kilby today.
"Our search is still in its infancy and we haven't got a shortlist yet but there's a possibility the new manager could be walking out at Old Trafford. I think that, by the middle of next week, we'd expect to have a clear shortlist ahead of the Manchester United game."
Paulo Sousa, the Swansea manager and former Portugal international, is much admired at Turf Moor and is understood to be keen to manage in the Premier League but Burnley would face a fight for his services."I won't be letting Burnley or any club talk to our manager," said Huw Jenkins, the Swansea chairman, today. After having Sousa's predecessor, Roberto Martínez, poached by Wigan last summer, the Welsh club are extremely hostile to the idea of losing a second manager within a matter of months.
"There are one or two people clearly coming through," Kilby said. "But, although we intend to do things quickly, we are just starting to look at the beauty parade. The managers are coming forward now so we just need to get it narrowed down a bit, we haven't got it down to a list of six names or anything yet."
Coyle has recommended his friend John Hughes, his former co-manager at Falkirk, who is in charge at Hibs, to Kilby, and Mike Phelan, Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant at Manchester United is another candidate.
Burnley would be extremely interested in the Leeds United manager, Simon Grayson, but he is understood to be fully committed to the rebuilding job at Elland Road and would not be prepared to leave.
Although the 53-year-old Peter Reid does not quite fit Burnley's "young, emerging" profile, the Stoke City assistant manager is expected to make Kilby's shortlist. Reid, formerly in charge of Manchester City, Sunderland, Leeds and Thailand, applied for the Turf Moor post in November 2007 but lost out to Coyle. His past experience of relegation battles may yet count in his favour as Burnley strive to retain their hard-won Premier League status.
While the hunt for a manager goes on Steve Davis, a coach Kilby hopes to prevent being poached by Bolton, will remain in caretaker charge of the east Lancashire side.
With Kilby wanting £3m in compensation for losing Coyle and Phil Gartside, Bolton's chairman, hoping to pay nearer £1m, the Scot is currently on "gardening leave" while the legal wrangling over an exit clause in his contract continues.
Coyle hopes to be free to take charge of Bolton for the first time at Sunderland on Saturday but that Premier League fixture is in danger of postponement due to the severe weather conditions. A decision as to whether or not it goes ahead is expected to be made on Saturday.
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jan/07/burnley-owen-coyle-bolton