Coppell 'torn' between clubs after emerging as Reading's first-choice manager

Reading's board of directors have made up their mind whom they want as their next manager, although the club's director of football, Nicky Hammond, refused to confirm that Brighton's Steve Coppell had been offered the job.

"We have interviewed a number of people and the board now know who they want," he said. "They will not be rushed into a decision."

Coppell confirmed that he had been in talks with Reading, after Brighton's 3-0 win over Blackpool on Saturday, saying: "I am torn. I have got something great going here. If we had the ground it wouldn't be an issue. We really need to get it sorted out soon. I spoke to Reading and nothing was conclusive. I've said to the players, 'I don't know what is going to happen'."

Hammond, who watched his team earn a 2-2 home draw against Bradford at the Madejski Stadium, said: "I don't think the manager situation is affecting the players at the moment, but we really need to get it sorted out soon.

"I stepped away from the process on Thursday to take charge of the team because [the caretaker manager] Kevin Dillon was away for family reasons," he added.

As the Frenchman Luis Fernandez emerged as the surprise front runner for the role of the assistant manager to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, his compatriot Fabien Barthez has admitted that he may be forced to find a new club.

Barthez, a key member of France's World Cup 1998 and Euro 2000 winning squads, has fallen out of favour with Ferguson and seen Tim Howard emerge as United's first-choice keeper. Speaking on French television, he at first denied reports he would be moving on. "I am still under contract with Manchester until June 2006 and there is no hard fact that I am leaving Manchester," he said. However, pressed further, he admitted he might have to reconsider when asked if he might be loaned to a French club - he was linked with Paris St-Germain earlier in the week.

"I don't know. Because I play for one of Europe's biggest clubs, a lot of things can happen," he said. "In football at my age everything can happen very quickly. Everything is possible. For the time being I am taking every day as it comes."

Fernandez, who has been out of work since the summer when he left PSG, looks to have beaten Bryan Robson, Martin Jol and Mike Phelan to the position at Old Trafford.

Ferguson is said to have considered numerous options before deciding on another continental assistant to replace Carlos Queiroz. Fernandez, the former midfielder and French international, has plenty of coaching experience with two separate stints at PSG and two successful seasons with Athletic Bilbao.