THREE candidates Mick McCarthy, Joe Kinnear and Dave Bassett are now left in the race to succeed Jack Charlton following yesterday's announcement that Kenny Dalglish will not be a candidate for the vacant managership of the Republic of Ireland team.

Dalglish's candidature was finally removed from the calculations after Robert Coar, the chairman of Blackburn Rovers, issued a statement rebuking the FAI for their interest in the Scot, currently employed as director of football at the club.

"The FAI contacted us last week and asked permission to speak with Kenny Dalglish about their managerial position," said Coar. "Our response was that any such request was unwanted. That's how the matter was left and that's how it remains. We've heard nothing further."

Later, a spokesman for the FAI confirmed that Dalglish's name had now been withdrawn. "We wanted to speak with Dalglish, but Blackburn will not permit us to do so," he said. "We would never speak to any manager of a club team if the chairman of that club did not wish us to do so and Blackburn have made it clear that they do not wish us to proceed with our interest in Dalglish."

Dalglish's name was brought into the equation within days of Charlton's departure, but even then, the word on the grapevine was that he would not be interested in entering into open competition for the vacancy.

McCarthy, Kinnear and Bassett will now be interviewed in London today, at the first stage of the selection process. In spite of Millwall's slump in form, McCarthy remains the marginal favourite, ahead of Kinnear.

A six man selection committee, headed by Louis Kilcoyne and including the four vice presidents of the FAI, Pat Quigley, Michael Hyland, Joe Delaney and Des Casey, in addition to the chairman of Shelbourne, Finber Flood, has been give the brief of bringing back a recommendation to the Executive Committee.

That is now likely to happen within the next fortnight and officials believe they are still on course to have a new manager in place by the third week in February.

Officials at the FAI confirmed that they have received "dozens and dozens" of applications for the job from people in all walks of life, including one from a mother of six. She reckons that anybody who is capable of rearing six children is capable of looking after a football team.

Just what she thinks of the job specifications in the light of yesterday's meeting in Liechtenstein to arrange dates and venues for the 1998 World Cup qualifiers is unclear, but the general view is that the FAI delegation of Louis Kilcoyne, Michael Hyland and Donie Butler had reason to be pleased with their visit to Vaduz.

While the members of the squad will not be too happy with the prospect of having to stay in training until June 7th of next year, for the home game against Liechtenstein, generally, the Irish got much of what they wanted.

Paramount to their strategy was the need to ease their way gently into the qualifying programme and a cursory glance at the fixtures suggests that the new manager should not encounter too much difficulty in banking precious early points.

The opening game, against Liechtenstein at Vaduz on Saturday August 31, will revive memories of last year's unhappy European qualifying expedition to the foot of the Alps, but in the belief that lightning is unlikely to strike twice, officials are not unduly apprehensive.

Home games against Macedonia and Iceland follow in October and November and there will be two away games, in Macedonia and Romania, in April before the 1996/97 programme closes with a home fixture against Liechtenstein.

The away games in Iceland and Lithuania will take place within four days of each other in September of next year before the qualifying programme closes with a home game against Romania the following month. The two Romanian fixtures are likely to be critical.

That the home leg is the final game pleases Republic full back Denis Irwin. "In recent years, it seemed that we always finished our programme with a difficult away game, so I'm pleased that Romania are coming to us for our last game," he said. "On balance, I think we've done well."

Bookmakers William Hill yesterday closed their book on who would become the next manager, with McCarthy 5-4 favourite after heavy support.