Media reports today have reported that Coventry City are poised to appoint Roberto Di Matteo as Aidy Boothroyd's successor, but at the same time say the Di Matteo is not interested in the vacant job.
Todays Daily Mail reports that City chairman Ray Ranson has been Impressed with Di Matteo in the way in which he led West Bromwich Albion to promotion last season and that he is arranging an interview with Di Matteo with the aim of appointing him as Coventry City's eleventh manager in ten seasons.
However, the Coventry Telegraph is reporting that Di Matteo is not at all interested in the Coventry City job.
Di Matteo's agent Athole Still has poured scorn on the reports saying, that , “There is no truth in reports that he has put himself up for the [Coventry City] job. He only got back from a holiday in the Far East on Wednesday morning.”
Di Matteo lives in Leamington Spa, so is already very local and would not need to move house if he were to become City's next manager. He is on 'gardening leave' from WBA, so he is available and Coventry City need a new manager. Furthermore Di Matteo came in third in a CT poll of Coventry City fans as their preferred next manager.
Former Newcastle boss Chris Hughton was favourite with 23% with former City player Sam Allardyce coming second with nearly 19%. Third placed Di Matteo polled 15%.
Carlisle manager Greg Abbott has also emerged as a serious candidate for the job. Abbott is Coventry born and bred and he has experience of doing a reasonably good job of managing a football club on a very tight budget.
However the Cumbrian newspaper News and Star is reporting that there has not been any contact between Coventry City and Carlisle United .
A spokesman for Carlisle United told the News and Star, “It is inevitable with Greg’s background that, as with the recent Bradford vacancy, his name will be mentioned, but there has been no approach and as far as we are concerned he is our manager, doing a very good job and that is the way it will stay.”
It is looking more likely that the current care-taking management team of Andy Thorn and Steve Harrison will remain as temporary managers until the end of the season.