Dalglish linked with Wolves vacancy

Football

PHIL SHAW

Kenny Dalglish, who has taken a back seat at Blackburn since their championship success, was yesterday linked with the hot seat vacated by Graham Taylor at Wolves.

Asked to respond to a report in a Wolverhampton newspaper that sources close to him "insisted" he was waiting to be approached by the Molineux board, Dalglish did not deny his interest. All he did say was: "I don't comment on speculation", which may or may not suggest he would at least be interested to hear what Wolves have to offer.

Dalglish, who took Liverpool to numerous honours before resigning due to pressure and resurfacing at Blackburn, relinquished the manager's job at Ewood Park to Ray Harford during the summer. He remains on the payroll under the title Director of , although his day-to-day involvement with the first team has lessened considerably.

Whether that is a source of regret to the 44-year-old Scot must, however, be doubtful. His new role may be ill-defined, but it has allowed him to spend more time with his wife and young children, as well as indulging his passion for golf. Moreover, he is settled in Southport, which is a five-hour round trip from Molineux.

The challenge of leading another fallen giant back to former glories might appeal to Dalglish, but Wolves' owner, Sir Jack Hayward, has stressed that he is not in the same financial league as Jack Walker. The Wolves chairman, Sir Jack's son, Jonathan, said: "We are sifting through the possible contenders and are keen to keep the field wide open."

Tomas Brolin yesterday completed his pounds 4.5m transfer from Parma to Leeds, but too late to be able to play at Chelsea today. Oldham have agreed a pounds 450,000 fee for the Everton striker, Stuart Barlow. Everton will get pounds 350,000 now and a further pounds 100,000 after Barlow has scored a certain number of goals.

Macclesfield is to be the base for the Republic of Ireland squad preparing for the European Championship play-off against the Netherlands at Anfield on 13 December. Jack Charlton, the Republic's manager, has decided against Dublin because he feared public and media interest would have been too intense in the Irish capital.

If the play-off is level after 90 minutes, 30 minutes extra time will be played - with the tie being settled by the first goal scored. A penalty shoot-out will be used if the teams fail to score during extra time.

Euro 96 seeds, page 30