Cardiff City refused permission to sweet-talk Slade

Cardiff City have been refused permission to hold talks with Russell Slade in regards to their vacant managerial position.

The Bluebirds, who sacked Malky Mackay in December 2013 just seven months after he led them to the Premier League, lost their status as a top-flight club having propped up the table last season. And a disappointing start to the current campaign has resulted in the departure of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was dismissed last week.

Controversial club owner Vincent Tan has now set his sights on Slade, who has been in charge of Leyton Orient for almost four-and-a-half years. Last season he led them to the playoff final in League One, where they lost to Rotherham United on penalties. And despite a relatively poor start to the current campaign, he appears to be a wanted man.

However, Orient have confirmed they have rejected an approach from Cardiff to speak to the 53-year-old, who remains under contract at Brisbane Road until the end of the 2015-16 season. The London club have also revealed that their manager was indeed interesting in discussing the role with the Welsh club, who may now need to look elsewhere.

A statement on Orient’s official website read: “On Friday we were contacted by a lawyer close to Cardiff City and Russell Slade, who asked us to give permission for Cardiff to talk to Russell. That evening Russell asked the club for permission to talk to Cardiff. On Saturday the general manager of Cardiff approached us in order to ask permission to talk to Russell. In all cases, we denied Cardiff the permission and did not authorise Russell to talk to Cardiff.”

Despite this stance, Slade remains favourite to succeed Solskjaer according to the oddschecker.com price comparison website. Other contenders include Scott Young, Kevin Cooper, Neil Lennon and Paul Hartley. Tony Pulis, the former Stoke City manager who quit Crystal Palace in the summer, is considered a long-shot.

Cardiff fans, who would you like to succeed Solskjaer? Have your say by joining in the discussion below.

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