Kelly is shock name in Athletic frame

DARREN Kelly is the shock name at the front of the queue to become Athletic's next manager.

News of the Sunderland academy phase coach's candidacy emerged late on Friday night, with well-placed sources even suggesting that the little-known 35-year-old has been offered the job.

Iain Dowie had declared himself willing to take on the role for a second time, given the right conditions for a play-off push in Sky Bet League One next season.

Others interviewed for the main job at SportsDirect.com Park include Mark Yates, Paul Ashworth and current manager Dean Holden.

But if Kelly is announced as the new boss, it would show that chairman Simon Corney intends to go down a similar route he took when handing the reins to previous rookies Lee Johnson and Paul Dickov.

Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, Kelly started his career as a defender at his home-town club and also turned out for Carlisle, Portadown, York, Garforth, Frickley and Scarborough Athletic.

Currently a coach at Sunderland, Kelly holds a UEFA Pro Licence qualification and has been working in the academy set-up at the Stadium of Light for the past five months.

Holden is currently preparing his team for the final game of the season against Peterborough tomorrow.

He has been working on a pre-season programme for the past month and Athletic's hierarchy won't want to wait too much longer before making a decision on who will fill the manager's chair for the summer and beyond.