Standing firm on Sheridan

John Sheridan

ATHLETIC are holding firm in their stance over wanted manager John Sheridan.

Leeds United were linked in the national press with a move for the popular boss, whose odds on moving to Elland Road tumbled before hiking back up amid reports from Italy that ex-Palermo coach Giuseppe Iachini is instead set for the
Championship club.

And Athletic ­— who released an identical statement when Bolton were linked with a swoop for the 51-year-old two weeks ago ­— told the Chronicle that they have as-yet had no word from Leeds.

“We haven’t received an approach and one wouldn’t be welcomed,” the club said.

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A senior source at SportsDirect.com Park also expressed his doubts that Sheridan will ultimately be heading out to the West Yorkshire club he served well as a player for seven years, up to a short-lived stay at Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest in 1989.

Any club wanting to take Sheridan from Athletic would need to come up with a compensation figure believed to top six figures, which has put cash-strapped Bolton out of contention.

There is clearly an extreme reluctance on Athletic’s behalf to potentially lose the services of a boss who has revitalised fortunes from top to bottom, saving the club from relegation peril and energising the fanbase once again.

Athletic’s manager has this week been involved in drawing up the list of retained players, with the most eye-catching departure being that of midfielder Mike Jones.

He also played in a charity match at Sports Direct.com Park on Tuesday night and took part in a fans’ question and answer session in Royton last night.

Sheridan’s predecessor at Athletic, David Dunn, has ruled himself out of stepping into the vacant Ewood Park hot-seat.

Dunn (36) is working as Damien Johnson’s assistant in Blackburn’s under-21s, but is backing current assistant Alan Irvine to take over from the departed Paul Lambert.

“I had that spell at Oldham and, whatever people say, and you can ask quite a lot of people that we worked with, we weren’t a million miles off,” the ex-England international told the Lancashire Telegraph.

“John (Sheridan) came in and did a tremendous job. The six or seven players he brought in had a real impact, which we thought anyway.

“I’m really ambitious, I’m not going to lie, and at some point, yes. But at this moment in time I’m really enjoying what I’m doing and it’s really important I say that.”