Shortlist drawn up for vacant manager's job

Last updated : 07 January 2004 By The Chairman

A shortlist of six potential new managers has been drawn up by Athletic and it is hoped that initial talks will commence some time next week. Caretaker boss John Sheridan is the only named candidate but it is expected that the other five people will have a wealth of experience, including the Premiership, and new investor Danny Gazal has already said, “Big money could be spent in landing the right long-term option. We have to be aware of our outlay but at this stage cost shouldn’t enter our calculations. And if we need to pay a lot of money for the right person, then that’s what we will do.”

The three new investors will be at Boundary Park along with Athletic Chairman Barry Chaytow to interview the candidates. Investor Simon Blitz said: “This appointment is crucial. We won’t be rushed into it but we hope to make a decision before too long. The process has been very interesting so far and we look forward to sitting down with people next week.”

The third investor, Simon Corney, met with Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger and he said of the meeting, “It was great of him to spare the time and his views on football were fascinating. He said we should appoint someone who has been around for a long time as there’s no substitute for experience in the lower divisions. His advice was to formulate a long-term plan and stick to it, which is what Arsenal have done – and if we can emulate them on a smaller scale I would be very happy with that. He also said we might get some loan players from Arsenal if we reach division one, so it was a very productive meeting!”