CiTy DRAwiNG UP sHORTlisT As 55 APPly fOR CiTy jOB ­ BUT wilDER is NOT ON iT
COVENTRY City are narrowing their search for a new manager and expect to start interviewing suitable candidates, including caretaker boss Richard Shaw, next week.
The club have received 55 serious applications in all, a number of “third party“ approaches from agents of managers currently employed and a dozen prank propositions from people who fancy a crack at the job after proving a whiz on the Championship Manager computer game.
The man heading the recruitment process, development director Steve Waggott, insists that City have not approached any other club with a view to talking to their manager but has not ruled out going for someone who is currently employed if that person is identified as an outstanding candidate.
But the Telegraph understands that Oxford United's Chris Wilder, the bookies' favourite, is not in the running to fill Andy Thorn's shoes at the Ricoh Arena.
“We have got a list of criteria for the type of manager and skill set we expect from the manager,“ said Waggott. “We have drawn that up and we are now going through this very long list to come up with a shortlist and to move on to the interview process as quickly as possible.
“Whoever comes up with the criteria, we will meet and have a discussion with them and it may mean we have a second round of interviews if there are more than one who are close to what we deem fit to take the club to the next level.
“We are very open minded about it all and we aim to start interviewing next week when there are no midweek games and we can concentrate our focus on this.“ As for caretaker boss Shaw's position, he said: “Richard's CV is in there and we have just got to look at the criteria and match it up. He's in the hat and he's said in all his interviews to date that he would be honoured and sees it as the next stepping stone in his career.
“But he also knows that the managerial job at Coventry is a big opportunity for others who have either been out of employment for a while or just come out of employment, or some who are currently in employment and looking for the next step in terms of their career pathway. So he knows it's going to be a really competitive field.
“I know Richard well ­ I've known him for years ­ both as a player and first-team coach at Millwall but the process has got to be followed so that everyone on the shortlist will be interviewed.“
Regarding managers currently in jobs, Waggott revealed: “What usually happens is we have third party representatives or agents who put a call in to say that this person would see Coventry as a step up from their current position but we have made no formal approaches at all ­ and I can categorically state that to any clubs regarding a manager who is currently employed. It would be a register of intent but it's not an official application as such and if, as we went through the process, we thought there was a stand-out candidate at another club then we would make an approach to that club to say we are interested in their manager and go through the proper procedure.
“But that usually involves some sort of compensation clause subject to the contractual position of the manager.“
Asked if, given City's current financial situation, it would look to avoid going down that route, Waggott said: “It's a good question and the answer is that if it was deemed to be that the person who was the absolute stand-out candidate and it involved some sort of money ­ but it couldn't be what I would call a huge or significant compensation because that's not where we're at and there would have to be careful consideration given to that ­ it may be that a bit of a short-term hit in terms of finance could mean a long-term goal achieved by the club.
“You have to keep it on context. This season is a big one for us. We're trundling through cups and everything else but the league is what we are really focused on and we all know the figures which could mean an uplift of £4-5million on promotion in terms of income. So we would have to consider that if there was to be an approach to someone involving compensation.“
Asked about Oxford's Chris Wilder, Waggott admitted: “He's been mentioned by a lot of people but so have a lot of others. “As usual you get people around football who have an opinion on who would be the best manager and it was just a case of `have you thought about this manager'. Everyone knows he's done a good job but there has been no approach or any interaction between Coventry and Oxford United at all.“
He added: “This is a big opportunity and whoever is going to take it on has got to know that we have an infrastructure in terms of squad and backroom in place here. “They definitely need to know what it takes to gain promotion and galvanise a team to get a winning mentality and someone who has got knowledge of the lower leagues but could also, looking ahead, handle bringing together a Championship squad from the basis of this squad.“
COVENTRY City are narrowing their search for a new manager and expect to start interviewing suitable candidates, including caretaker boss Richard Shaw, next week.
The club have received 55 serious applications in all, a number of “third party“ approaches from agents of managers currently employed and a dozen prank propositions from people who fancy a crack at the job after proving a whiz on the Championship Manager computer game.
The man heading the recruitment process, development director Steve Waggott, insists that City have not approached any other club with a view to talking to their manager but has not ruled out going for someone who is currently employed if that person is identified as an outstanding candidate.
But the Telegraph understands that Oxford United's Chris Wilder, the bookies' favourite, is not in the running to fill Andy Thorn's shoes at the Ricoh Arena.
“We have got a list of criteria for the type of manager and skill set we expect from the manager,“ said Waggott. “We have drawn that up and we are now going through this very long list to come up with a shortlist and to move on to the interview process as quickly as possible.
“Whoever comes up with the criteria, we will meet and have a discussion with them and it may mean we have a second round of interviews if there are more than one who are close to what we deem fit to take the club to the next level.
“We are very open minded about it all and we aim to start interviewing next week when there are no midweek games and we can concentrate our focus on this.“ As for caretaker boss Shaw's position, he said: “Richard's CV is in there and we have just got to look at the criteria and match it up. He's in the hat and he's said in all his interviews to date that he would be honoured and sees it as the next stepping stone in his career.
“But he also knows that the managerial job at Coventry is a big opportunity for others who have either been out of employment for a while or just come out of employment, or some who are currently in employment and looking for the next step in terms of their career pathway. So he knows it's going to be a really competitive field.
“I know Richard well ­ I've known him for years ­ both as a player and first-team coach at Millwall but the process has got to be followed so that everyone on the shortlist will be interviewed.“
Regarding managers currently in jobs, Waggott revealed: “What usually happens is we have third party representatives or agents who put a call in to say that this person would see Coventry as a step up from their current position but we have made no formal approaches at all ­ and I can categorically state that to any clubs regarding a manager who is currently employed. It would be a register of intent but it's not an official application as such and if, as we went through the process, we thought there was a stand-out candidate at another club then we would make an approach to that club to say we are interested in their manager and go through the proper procedure.
“But that usually involves some sort of compensation clause subject to the contractual position of the manager.“
Asked if, given City's current financial situation, it would look to avoid going down that route, Waggott said: “It's a good question and the answer is that if it was deemed to be that the person who was the absolute stand-out candidate and it involved some sort of money ­ but it couldn't be what I would call a huge or significant compensation because that's not where we're at and there would have to be careful consideration given to that ­ it may be that a bit of a short-term hit in terms of finance could mean a long-term goal achieved by the club.
“You have to keep it on context. This season is a big one for us. We're trundling through cups and everything else but the league is what we are really focused on and we all know the figures which could mean an uplift of £4-5million on promotion in terms of income. So we would have to consider that if there was to be an approach to someone involving compensation.“
Asked about Oxford's Chris Wilder, Waggott admitted: “He's been mentioned by a lot of people but so have a lot of others. “As usual you get people around football who have an opinion on who would be the best manager and it was just a case of `have you thought about this manager'. Everyone knows he's done a good job but there has been no approach or any interaction between Coventry and Oxford United at all.“
He added: “This is a big opportunity and whoever is going to take it on has got to know that we have an infrastructure in terms of squad and backroom in place here. “They definitely need to know what it takes to gain promotion and galvanise a team to get a winning mentality and someone who has got knowledge of the lower leagues but could also, looking ahead, handle bringing together a Championship squad from the basis of this squad.“