Former chairman Finbarr Flood will run the eircom League champions Shelbourne on a caretaker basis in the absence of the club's chief executve, Ollie Byrne, who was taken to hospital on Tuesday.

Byrne's precise condition remains unclear but the club's official website confirmed he is likely to undergo surgery "within the next 24 hours".

The decision to approach Flood was taken by the club's Management Committee, who initially appeared to be struggling to find ways of filling the vacuum in Byrne's abcence.

Late last week Byrne had told a number of people that Sean Connolly, a former general secretary of the FAI, was to be appointed chief executive of the club.

This had not happened by the time Byrne was taken ill, however, and those outsiders attempting to deal with the club in his absence yesterday were struggling to make any sort of headway.

Flood's return is widely seen as a short term fix only.