Terry Venables was offered an Olympic carrot to remain on as Australian coach yesterday and indicated he was willing to lead the Socceroos to the 2002 World Cup, if an agreement can be reached.

The former England national team, Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur manager is in Sydney to thrash out his future with Soccer Australia chief David Hill, who hopes the prospect of coaching the Australians for an Olympic tournament on their home soil next year will interest Venables.

Venables has been offered a series of highprofile and lucrative jobs since Australia failed narrowly to make the World Cup finals. He has been linked to the Nigerian national team, English Premier league side Everton and Scottish champions Rangers and only a week ago El Tel ruled out moving down under on a permanent basis, saying Europe was the place to be.