Gary McAllister is believed to be one of three British candidates who will be interviewed to succeed Brian McDermott at Leeds United.
The Whites are in the market for a new head coach after dismissing McDermott on 30 May, ending months of speculation surrounding the former Reading boss. Although Gianluca Festa, the former Middlesbrough defender, had been previously tipped to take over, club owner Massimo Cellino has effectively ruled out his compatriot by revealed he intends to install a Brit in the dugout.
The Italian has also revealed that he will speak to three candidates in the coming days, and the BBC claim McAllister is one of the contenders. The former Scotland international helped Leeds to the league title as a player back in 1992, and also had an 11-month spell as manager in 2008. During this time he led the Elland Road club to the League One playoff final, which they lost to Doncaster Rovers, and he was sacked the following December after a poor start to the season.
“I am meeting three British coaches for talks and want to get someone in place soon,” Cellino confirmed to Sky Sports. “I have always said I wanted a British coach. I am a man of my word and that is still the case. I want someone to take care of the preparation of the team, the training, the tactics, not the recruitment or the contracts. The job is a coach, not a manager, which is an important difference.”
Another candidate for the position is Dave Hockaday, the former manager of Conference Premier side Forest Green Rovers. The 56-year-old left the New Lawn Nailsworth in October after a disappointing start to the 2013-14 season, and was previously part of the coaching team which guided Watford to the Premier League in 2006 when, ironically, they defeated Leeds in the playoff final in Cardiff.
Although the name of the third contender is as of yet unreported, speculation suggests it could be Chris Hughton. Although sacked by Norwich City in April, the 55-year-old was in charge of Newcastle United when they won the Championship title in 2010 when they lost just four of their 46 fixtures. He also led Birmingham City to a fourth place Championship finish in 2010-11, before they were denied a return to the top-flight when they lost in the playoff semi-final to Blackpool.
