Football
Five possible candiates for the Sky Blues post

Buy photos » Former Sky Blues striker Andy Morrell has impressed as manager at Wrexham in recent years.

THE club has said over 50 applications have been received for the manager's job.

Steve Waggot, development manager, revealed to the Observer he was searching for someone with the same principles as Robins and already met potential candidates.

Here our sports reporter Steve Carpenter picks out his top five candidates for the job:

Phil Brown: After being reportedly interviewed for the job five months ago, Brown has once again thrown his name into the hat for the job as he seeks a return to management.

The 53-year-old will be remembered for his exploits at Hull City whom he guidedto the top flight of English football for the first time in its history.

Brown seems desperate to get back into management after being heavily linked with the Plymouth and Hartlepool role, andin a radio interview late last week revealed he would like to be considered for the Sky Blues job.

Andy Morrell: He was a popular figure among Sky Blues supporters during his three-year spell with the club ten years ago and has impressed as player-manager at Wrexham.

Although they play at a much lower level than the Sky Blues, his 59 per cent win ratio in the Conference National makes him a long shot for the role, but I am confident he would certainly be a popular choice with supporters.

Dennis Wise: The former England international ended a 23-year playing career at the Ricoh Arena during which he became a firm favourite with the Sky Blues faithful.

Wise began his coaching career at Millwall before moving on to have spells at Southampton, Swindon Town and Leeds United.

The 45-year-old meets the club's criteria of having experience in the lower leagues after guiding Swindon to second in League Two and Leeds to third in League One.

Wise is likely to get interviewed if approached but his long term commitment to the cause could come into question.

Eric Black: Despite only being in charge for a short space of time, Black remains a popular choice among supporters and may welcome a return to management.

He was controversially sacked back in 2004 which may still linger in Black's mind.

But after getting the chop from Blackburn Rovers along with Steve Kean, Black may want to bounce back immediately and finish the job he started nine years ago.

Lee Carsley: A 2-0 victory over Bury on Saturday increased Carsley's chances of being offered the job on a full-time basis, but I am not sure the former skipper is ready to take that next big step on the coaching ladder.

Speaking to the media ahead of Saturday's win, Carsley hinted he might not yet be ready for the role despite having been coaching at the club since retiring from the game two years ago.

But Waggott would have been impressed by what he saw at Bury and his odds will shorten dramatically should he pull of a miracle at Crewe on Wednesday night.

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