IAN RUSH is out of the running for the Wales manager’s job, leaving Chris Coleman and Lars Lagerback as the leading contenders. Rush intimated he was interested in the position after John Toshack’s six-year reign came to an end at the start of September, but it is understood that the former Liverpool striker and Wales’s all-time leading goalscorer has since accepted that he lacks the necessary managerial experience for the role.
The Football Association of Wales has invited seven candidates for interview across a two-day period over the next couple of weeks with a view to making an appointment by the middle of next month.
The list includes four Welshmen, Brian Flynn, who was placed in temporary charge for the two Euro 2012 qualifiers last month, John Hartson, Dean Saunders and Coleman, as well as Lagerback, who has managed Sweden and Nigeria at international level, and Lawrie Sanchez, who impressed during his time in charge of Northern Ireland.
The back-to-back defeats Flynn presided over against Bulgaria and Switzerland in the space of four days are known to have severely damaged his prospects of landing the job on a permanent basis.
Whether the FAW can attract its preferred candidate remains to be seen. The salary on offer is in the region of €200,000 to €230,000 per year, less than many Championship managers earn, while the FAW also wants the new manager to spend a considerable amount of time in Wales.
GuardianService
