The Express and Star is saying that Jeff Bonser has interviewed three candidates for the vacant manager’s job at Bescot.

Former manager Chris Nicholl is one of the candidates, but the Chairman has also seen two more personally and spoken to four more interested parties over the phone. Jeff was also due for talks with an eighth yesterday and has not ruled out even more interviews before making an appointment.

Bonser said: “Chris Nicholl rang me on Saturday and asked if he could speak to me and I was happy to meet him.

We met on Monday and spoke for a long time about a lot of things and it’s always good to speak to Chris because he is someone I have known for many years.”

Bonser declined to reveal the names of the other men he has spoken to, but he confirmed he would not be considering any applicants currently under contract with other clubs.

He said: “It is something I’ve got to think long and hard about and I’m not going to employ a manager just for the sake of doing it quickly. There are 5,000 people out there telling me what I should do and they might be right, but at the end of the day it is down to me. I can’t guarantee I will be right, but I’m the one that has to make the decision and I’ve got to take care with it.

One thing I can say is that I will not be approaching other clubs about taking their staff. It has been done to me in the past and it is not something I want to put other clubs through.”

Jeff does seem to be taking his time over this one, quite rightly in the current circumstances. With yet another squad rebuilding job to be done over the summer, he cannot afford another big mistake. At least the already improved performances under caretaker Mick Halsall have taken some of the immediate pressure off, so he can take a little more time over the decision.