Clark rejects England speculation

Football

Frank Clark believes almost every manager in the Premiership is in the frame for the England manager's job, but that has not stopped the bookmakers William Hill closing their book on who will succeed Terry Venables.

Their decision followed the Nottingham Forest manager's dismissal of reports that he is to work alongside Venables for Euro 96 before taking over.

"Clearly moves are afoot to approach certain potential managers and the Association must have a hit list of people they wish to sound out," Hill's spokesman, Graham Sharpe, said.

"We have no idea who they may be but would not be surprised if plenty of other people do, which would make it financial suicide for us to continue to bet."

Clark, whose team face Bayern Munich in the Uefa Cup tonight, had been heavily backed recently with his odds being cut from 10-1 to 4-1 third favourite. The Leeds manager, Howard Wilkinson, was the 7-4 favourite and Tottenham's Gerry Francis the next best at 2-1 when the book was closed.

"Speculation is inevitable because almost every Premier League manager could be put in the frame," Clark said. "But to say England are about to appoint me is going too far. I haven't had any contact with the Association, either officially or unofficially."

Gary Speed's hopes of appearing in Sunday's Coca-Cola Cup final at Wembley still hang in the balance after visiting a specialist today. The Leeds midfielder suffered a fractured cheekbone in an FA Cup tie with Port Vale last month and was originally expected to be out around three months.

But Speed is desperately keen to play in the final against Aston Villa and his manager Wilkinson has to decide whether to risk the Welsh international. After the doctor's verdict yesterday, Wilkinson said: "All I can say at this stage is that I can't rule Gary out."

Wilkinson decided not to chance him in Sunday's 2-2 draw with Everton, although his gifted midfielder could have a short-term solution by wearing a protective mask, similar to the one worn effectively by Paul Gascoigne.

And his experience could be a key factor in the club's bid to secure a place in Europe for the second successive season.

Leeds have a busy week in the run-up to Wembley and face Liverpool at Anfield tomorrow in an FA Cup quarter-final replay.

However, if Speed is to have a run-out before the final, it is more likely to come the following day when the reserves travel to Stoke in the Pontins League. Speed was one of a number of regulars missing in the match against Everton, mainly through injury and suspension as Leeds fielded five players aged 21 or under.

Their influential captain, Gary McAllister, will definitely face Liverpool after being ordered to rest by his manager while the injured pair, Tony Yeboah and Tony Dorigo, could also return.

The central defender David Wetherall will again be missing as he completes his two-match ban as Leeds aim to take a step closer to another Wembley appearance.

Bolton yesterday agreed terms with Aston Villa to sign the former England Under-21 defender Bryan Small, who will sign on a free transfer subject to a routine medical.

The Bolton manager, Colin Todd, who has been searching for several months to find a left-sided defender, said: "Several clubs were in the hunt for Bryan, including Nottingham Forest, and we are delighted he has agreed to come here."

Small will go straight into Bolton's squad for tomorrow night's Premiership home match with Tottenham Hotspur when a win would lift the Burnden Park side off bottom place for the first time in four months.

The French coach, Aime Jacquet, continued to omit his English exiles Eric Cantona and David Ginola when he named a squad of 16 to play Belgium in a warm-up match for Euro 96 on 27 March. The pair were left out even though two key midfielders, Youri Djorkaeff and Vincent Guerin, are injured. The Paris St-Germain defender Alain Roche, who has missed most of the season with a serious knee injury, has been recalled.

General Anghel Iordanescu, coach of European Championship finalists Romania, resigned yesterday, saying his allegations of match rigging in local championships had been ignored.

"I want to give up training the national team because I have repeatedly warned about match rigging, and measures to redress [that situation] have been delayed," Iordanescu said.

Romania will compete alongside Spain, Bulgaria and France in Euro 96 Group B, which is based in Newcastle and Leeds.