As expected, and as reported here on givemefootball earlier in the week, Coventry City will today unveil Peter Reid as their new boss following the surprise departure of Eric Black who was sacked within hours of the club's biggest win of the season at the weekend.
Reid has been out of work since parting company with Leeds in November, but is set to return to management at a club which has become noted for under-achievement in recent seasons. Being a mid-table First Division club is simply not good enough for chairman Mike McGinnity.
The Sky Blues supremo said: "At the start of the last two seasons I have clearly stated my ambitions were to see us at least achieve a play-off place and that hasn't happened so I reached a point where I believed a change had to be made.
"Both Gary McAllister and Eric Black did excellent jobs and there has never been a personality clash between myself and either of them. With the financial restraints they had imposed on them I think they've done good jobs.
"But that good job has been mid-table in the First Division and I'm not prepared to sit here and spend the next five years or so in the middle of Division One," added McGinnity, who said of the new boss: "The man who will hopefully sign later this week has immense knowledge of the game and I will be demanding instant success."
Reid's former club Leeds, meanwhile, have moved quickly to dispel rumours that Crystal Palace's highly-rated young manager Iain Dowie is the man being lined up by would-be-buyer Steve Parkin to replace Eddie Gray in the Elland Road hot seat.
Parkin is believed to have tabled an improved £30m bid for the relegated club, but Leeds director Melvyn Helme says: "The speculation is most unhelpful. There have been no approaches made by this club and no-one else should be speaking with other managers unless they are in a position to do so."
Helme added: "If someone else wants to appoint the manager of this football club they should be in control because as far as we are concerned we have a manager."
According to the Leeds players, Gray is the man to resurrect the fortunes of the once proud club and on-loan winger Jermaine Pennant says: "The club was struggling and it was a hard time when he came in. It was difficult for him to pick the club up at that time.
"He is Leeds through and through and a great manager. He would be perfect for the job. He is a great manager and loves the club. He says we will definitely bounce back from this and if he gets the job it will be good for Leeds and the fans."
Sir Alex Ferguson, meanwhile, reckons the loss of former Leeds defender Rio Ferdinand was the main contributory factor behind Manchester United's concession of the Premiership title to Arsenal.
Ferdinand's eight-match ban clearly unsettled the United defence which has not been the same since and the United boss said: "The problem has almost got lost in the mist of people's memories but on 17 January, we were four points clear of Arsenal and lost Rio Ferdinand into that suspension.
"Then Mikael Silvestre got an injury and Quinton Fortune had a serious injury in training and to be honest we just fell apart defensively at that moment in time. I felt we were the best we had been defensively for years and we had only lost 15 goals up to that point but that was a bad, bad blow for us and there is no question about that.
"When you are so strong defensively, you couldn't see teams beating us, and that is the essence of a championship winning team."
