Football: Liverpool set to promote Evans

ROY EVANS, who joined Liverpool during the Bill Shankly era but played only 11 first-team games before joining the 'Boot Room' at 25, is expected to succeed Graeme Souness as manager of the club within the next 48 hours.

The Bootle-born Evans, 45, was promoted from the position of coach to assistant manager last May as the Anfield board sought to placate players unhappy with Souness's confrontational style. Now, with Liverpool anxious to revert to the policy of appointing from within, he is to be offered the chance of the senior post.

Evans, who led Liverpool's reserves to nine Central League titles in his first 11 years on the coaching staff, is likely to have another former player, Steve Heighway, as his No 2. The former Irish international is currently the club's youth development officer.

Terry Cooper has been appointed manager of the Second Division strugglers, Exeter City, for the second time.

The former Leeds and England defender was always the firm favourite to replace Alan Ball, who took over from him at St James' Park in August 1991. After an hour-long board meeting following City's 2-0 home League defeat by Bournemouth, the Exeter chairman, Ivor Doble, said: 'Terry is starting work on Monday morning - and he has a lot of work to do.'

Cooper, who has appointed the former Exeter and Bournemouth striker, Trevor Morgan, as his assistant manager, said: 'We have got about 22 cup ties on our hands, but I'll give it my best shot.'

Francis Lee is to be installed as Manchester City's new chairman before next Saturday's home game with Ipswich - and will immediately plough pounds 6m into his struggling team.

The Blackburn defender, Colin Hendry, will miss his chance to captain Scotland's B team against Wales at Wrexham on Wednesday. Hendry, handed the role by new Scotland manager, Craig Brown, yesterday withdrew from the squad due through injury, leaving Dundee United's Billy McKinlay to take over as skipper.

'I regard Billy as real captaincy material,' Brown said. He has also lost the Celtic midfielder, Pat McGinlay, because of family problems. Scot Gemmill, the Nottingham Forest midfielder, comes into the squad.

Tony Waddington, who managed Stoke City during the most successful period in their history, died in hospital on Saturday after a brief illness. He was 69.

Waddington, who guided Stoke between 1960 and 1977, transformed the club by paying Blackpool pounds 2,500 for the 46-year-old Stanley Matthews. He gained a repuation for reviving the careers of other veteran ball-players, and led Stoke to their only major trophy, the League Cup in 1972.

He later spent heavily on the likes of Alan Hudson and Peter Shilton. Hudson, who remained a close friend, claimed in a newspaper column the day before his death that Waddington had turned down the chance to succeed Sir Matt Busby at Manchester United.

Obituary, page 12