Celtic League: Gerry Thornleyon how the apparent shortlist for the head coach vacancy at Ulster indicates the scale of the province's ambition.

Matt Williams, the former New South Wales, Leinster and Scotland coach, is believed to be among those on the Ulster shortlist to fill the head coach vacancy created by Mark McCall's resignation.

Williams's knowledge of the Irish game, his relative success with Leinster and high profile might make him an attractive proposition for the Ulster branch.

Ulster's Professional Team Management Committee, which is chaired by Cecil Watson, is conscious of the need to make as high profile an appointment as possible, and hence their shortlist is also rumoured to include the All Blacks' assistant coach Wayne Smith, the former Wales coach Scott Johnson, Pat Lam and Gareth Jenkins, who has intimated he would be interested.

Williams guided Leinster to a 19-match winning run in the 2001-02 season, incorporating the inaugural Celtic League triumph and the quarter-finals of the Heineken European Cup, before reaching the semi-finals the following season.

However, whether Williams would be tempted again to uproot his family from Australia is a moot point and there are plenty of other potential stumbling blocks, such as any residual problems with IRFU powerbrokers arising from his time with Leinster and departure to Scotland over four years ago.

Although Ulster enjoy a greater degree of autonomy with regard to such appointments - in part because they operate under British employment laws - and have appointed an independent recruiting agency, were he tempted Williams would also probably wish to utilise the forward coaching skills of Ulster's own Willie Anderson.

Anderson, who worked with Williams at both Leinster and Scotland, undoubtedly has the best CV of any indigenous Ulster coach and, rather refreshingly, has expressed his own desire to fill the head coaching role with the province.

But neither possibility is likely to be met with enthusiasm by Watson or the hugely influential figure of fellow Malone man Neilly Jackson, who is chairman of the Players Advisory Group and who also serves on the IRFU's Appointments Committee.

The apparent shortlist indicates the scale of Ulster's ambition in what is a key appointment at something of a crossroads for the province.

Bottom of their pool in the European Cup, and second from last in the Celtic League with just two wins in nine competitive games this season, at least 17 players are believed to be out of contract at the end of the current campaign.

What's more, Ulster players do not benefit from the so-called Charlie McCreevy tax rebate.

Securing the right man might go a long way towards convincing some of the reputedly disaffected players with Ulster but the province is not believed to be awash with money after heavy investment, notably in the Alan Solomons years which preceded McCall's reign.

Hence the likes of Smith and Johnson will assuredly be out of their price range.

Although his star has waned considerably after his unhappy time as Wales' head coach, Jenkins would look a more realistic bet.

In the circumstance, the current caretaker Steve Williams might well appear more attractive, in turn freeing up finances to make some necessary investment in the playing squad, notably in the recruitment of a tighthead prop.

Despite the former Welsh player's relative coaching inexperience, to that end the vital victory over Connacht will have helped his cause.

The club game hasn't thrown up any viable alternatives, even if Dungannon's John Andrews is seen as a young indigenous coach of real promise, and both Solomons, who resides in Ulster and coaches Belfast Harlequins, and Andre Bester would probably jump at the chance.

However, while Solomons especially would have his supporters, his candidature is seen as a long shot after his own time there.