Former England captain Bryan Robson has called for Terry Venables to be re-installed as the national team coach next week.
The Middlesbrough manager is one of several managers to have ruled themselves out of succeeding Glenn Hoddle due to his commitments at club level and the fact that he found the role of Venables' deputy with England "just too much" as he was never at home with his family.
But his faith in Venables' abilities as a coach with a proven international pedigree, the respect of the players and a rapport with the media is undiminished after helping him to lead England to the Euro 96 semi-finals.
The main stumbling block is that Venables quit after the tournament in rancour following a row with Football Association international committee chairman Noel White and a flood of legal actions over allegations surrounding his business dealings.
But acting FA chairman Geoff Thompson, who has made it clear that he favours an Englishman with "passion and patriotism" to take over the post full-time, added he was "open-minded" about Venables.
While Venables has not yet declared his hand, John Gregory became the latest to rule himself out of the running after Kevin Keegan, Gerard Houllier and, in the past, Arsene Wenger, had stated their determination to remain in club football.
Keegan could perhaps still be persuaded round, while Alex Ferguson is another favoured candidate given his incredible achievements in the game.
Time is of the essence due to the proximity of England's next Euro 2000 qualifier against Poland at Wembley on March 27th.
And on the grounds of immediate availability, the three main candidates are caretaker coach Howard Wilkinson, who has his own backers and could bring in David Platt beneath him, former Blackburn boss Roy Hodgson, who is interested - and Venables.
Meanwhile, Tim Sherwood (30) finally completed his move to Tottenham from Blackburn yesterday in a four-year deal at a fee believed to be around £3 million. And he is likely to go straight into the squad for tomorrow's Premiership home clash with Coventry City.
Croatian international midfielder Silvio Maric is set to complete a £3 million move to Newcastle United.
Newcastle directors Freddy Shepherd, Russell Cushing and coach Ruud Gullit, who flew to Zabreb yesterday, agreed the deal with the financial director of Maric's club, Croatian champions and Cup holders Croatia Zagreb.
Maric (24), who wore a Newcastle shirt to training the other day, was not at the meeting between the two parties as he was at the club's training camp in Spain.
Leeds' Republic of Ireland international full back Alan Maybury, 20, has joined Scottish Premier League basement club Dunfermline on loan until the end of the season. Dunfermline manager Dick Campbell said: "He is the type of player we have been missing."
