By Longsider
May 25 2004

The end of May deadline that Barry Kilby set for appointing a new manager is almost upon us and it does look as though Burnley will be making an appointment within the next few days. Ronnie Moore looks to be the clear favourite although Rotherham say they have not been officially approached by the Clarets. If an approach was made Burnley would be turned down. According to various sources though it is widely accepted that Moore has already spoken to Burnley and should the Clarets make an official approach and be turned away then one would assume that Moore would resign and enable himself to move to Burnley.

A similar situation evolved when Steve Bruce resigned from his post at Crystal Palace to take over at Birmingham. Palace chairman Simon Jordon initally blocked the move before eventually giving in to Bruce and the midlands club.

The other contenders appear to be Steve Cotterill, Steve McMahon and Bryan Flynn. Cotterill, who resigned from his job at Leicester last week, is one of the highest qualified coaches within the game and his appointment would go down well with Burnley fans.

It is unlikely that the potential appointments of McMahon or Flynn would be met with as much pleasure by Burnley fans. Both managers have struggled in recent seasons in the lower leagues but it is Flynn's dream of managing his home-town club and his attitude towards youth development could tip the scales in his favour.