SUNDERLAND ATTEMPTED to speed up their hunt for Roy Keane's replacement at a board meeting yesterday when Niall Quinn and his co-directors compiled a shortlist of potential new managers.

Even so, the feeling is that a swift appointment is unlikely and Ricky Sbragia may well be in caretaker charge for not only tomorrow's game at home to West Bromwich Albion but the following weekend's trip to Phil Brown's Hull City.

Like Brown and the former Newcastle United manager Sam Allardyce, Gerard Houllier has been prominent in the betting to succeed Keane.

The Frenchman has, however, ruled himself out of the running, the former Liverpool manager informing French TV that he is not interested in the post.

Houllier added that he had not, in any case, been approached directly by anyone at Sunderland about the vacancy.

"No, I'm not interested," the technical director of the French Football Federation told Canal Plus. "And I haven't been contacted directly."

It is understood that Sunderland have largely been sounding out potential candidates through third parties to determine interest.

With the club's long list now trimmed significantly, the recruitment process will accelerate as contenders meet Quinn, Sunderland's chairman, and his co-directors.

The club - who succeeded in keeping Keane's appointment a secret until its announcement 28 months ago - was giving nothing away last night but it is believed that whereas Quinn may veer towards making a British or Irish appointment, Ellis Short, Sunderland's majority shareholder, is interested in seriously considering hiring from overseas. Accordingly it would be a surprise if the shortlist does not contain at least one foreign manager.

Commercially Sunderland are already looking to expand their operations well beyond the United Kingdom and Ireland and could prove equally enthusiastic about embracing globalism in the technical area.

Keen to promote the club's brand internationally, Short, an Irish-American, United States-based financier, has recently appointed Chris Woerts, the former Feyenoord chief executive as international business development director.

Sbragia, first-team coach under Keane and previously a respected member of the backroom staff at Manchester United and Bolton Wanderers, is regarded as a safe pair of hands. He has already dubbed the West Bromwich game a "must win" fixture as Sunderland aim to arrest their recent losing streak and start pulling out of the relegation zone.

Meanwhile, Fiorentina manager Cesare Prandelli has admitted he would allow Giampaolo Pazzini to join West Ham if the striker wanted to move.

The 24-year-old has been linked with a move to West Ham and while Prandelli would love to see the striker stay, he admits he would be powerless to prevent him leaving the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

"Pazzini is an important player for Fiorentina and I hope he can show that," he told Sky Italia. "It is the players who decide their own future. If Pazzini wants to go to West Ham, we would do something about it but at the moment there's nothing."