Successor: McCarthy to return?

There was considerable speculation yesterday that Manchester City might make a bid to lure Mick McCarthy away from international management and back to Maine Road.

The Ireland boss, who remains a popular figure at the club where he spent four seasons during the mid-1980s, was being widely tipped as a target for the club yesterday. The other men being linked with the job are George Graham, David Moyes, Sam Allardyce and David Platt.

While neither McCarthy nor any senior officials at Manchester City were available for comment yesterday the club would at least be able to hold out the prospect of much more lucrative employment than the former Ireland skipper currently enjoys.

There is also the question of McCarthy's contract with the FAI which is due to expire at the end of the current qualifying campaign. Asked about the possibility of an approach being made, FAI president Pat Quigley insisted that a move now would be unthinkable: "I can't imagine why he would want to go now," he said, "with the team performing so well but the whole thing is out of the question. Mick is under contract with us and that is that."