Everton will begin searching this morning for a fourth manager in 41/2 years after Howard Kendall's departure from the club was confirmed yesterday.
Only 363 days after returning to Goodison Park to begin his third spell as manager, Kendall, 52, said his farewells and a contract with two years left to run was terminated by "mutual consent".
Ideally the club would have liked to install Leicester City's Martin O'Neill but a more likely target is Manchester United's assistant manager Brian Kidd. He enjoys healthy support within the boardroom but only recently agreed a four-year contract at Old Trafford.
Kendall was informed that his services were no longer required on Wednesday evening and it brings to a close Kendall's largely fruitful relationship with the club. Celtic, meanwhile, could make former Swedish boss Tommy Svensson their new coach within the next week. The 51-year-old claimed yesterday he has been approached by Celtic who are seeking a replacement for Dutchman Wim Jansen. Svensson, who led Sweden to third place in the 1994 World Cup finals, appears to have moved to the top of Celtic's short-list ahead of Norwegians Egil Olsen and Nils Arne Eggen.
Veteran Spanish goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta announced yesterday he is retiring from football. The 36-year-old, whose blunder in Spain's first game of France 98 gave Nigeria a 3-2 win, made his final appearance in Wednesday's 61 thrashing of Bulgaria in Lens.
Second Round Referees
Brazil v Chile (Saturday): Referee: Marc Batta (Fra). Assistants: Jacques Poudevigne (Fra), Owen Powell (Jam).
Italy v Norway (Saturday): Referee: Bernd Heynemann (Ger). Assistants: Eric Schneider (Ger), Marc Van den Broeck (Bel).
Nigeria v Denmark (Sunday): Referee: Jose-Manuel Garcia Aranda (Spa). Assistants: Hussein Ghadanfari (Kwa), Halim Halim Abdul Hamid (Mal).
France v Paraguay (Sunday): Referee: Ali Mohamed Bujsaim (UAE). Assistants: Muhamad Wickeramatunge (Syr), Lencie Fred (Van).
