MICK McCARTHY is on the shortlist of candidates being drawn up by Celtic to replace Tommy Burns as manager after his dismissal late in the season.
Celtic's chairman Fergus McCann, who proposes to instal a European model of management with a head coach working in tandem with two others, recently commissioned a shortlist of six candidates.
In addition to McCarthy, it is thought to include Arturo Jorge the current Portuguese coach who has achieved outstanding success at club level with FC Porto, Benfica and Paris St Germain; Wim Jansen, the Dutch World Cup player who is recently returned from Japan; and Nevio SeaIa, the man responsible for the remarkable upturn in Parma's fortunes and who looks set to leave his current post with Perugia.
Brian Kidd is also being mentioned as a possible replacement although the Scots concede that there is little chance of prising him away from Manchester United. And the last name on the list is that of Bobby Rob son, the former England manager, whose term with FC Barcelona has run its course.
Celtic insiders say McCarthy does not top the shortlist; yet his inclusion on it, just a fortnight after having his contract as manager of the Republic of Ireland team extended by two years, is interesting.
There is no evidence that he would be prepared to leave international management to take on board the more time-consuming demands of club management, even on a streamlined basis, as envisaged by Celtic.
Nonetheless, he will be vaguely flattered by this show of interest at Parkhead where he is still revered by the faithful after helping Celtic to the coveted double of the Scottish Cup and Premier Division titles in their centenary year in 1988.
Meanwhile, it was confirmed yesterday that the Romanian Football Federation has been fined almost £5,000 by FIFA and warned of the need for tighter crowd control measures following trouble during the World Cup game against the Republic of Ireland in Bucharest on April 30th.
At least two bottles were thrown on to the pitch in separate incidents, and the game was held up for several minutes when Ray Houghton required treatment after being struck by a coin thrown by a spectator.
A spokesman for FIFA conceded that the fine was a relatively small one, but said that it was intended to act as a warning to the Romanians.
