Parkin's mission at Barnsley

Barnsley yesterday confirmed the appointment of Steve Parkin as their new manager. The former Rochdale manager succeeds Nigel Spackman, who left the First Division strugglers last month. He has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal and is joined at Oakwell by his former No 2 at Spotland, Tony Ford.

Parkin watched as Barnsley drew 2-2 on Thursday night at Preston, a result which leaves them second from bottom of the table. ''We appreciate there is a job to be done,'' he admitted. "It is a tough job and one which needs to be done quickly. But the team's attitude and skill at Preston gave us both a big lift.''

Parkin, who began his managerial career at Mansfield Town six years ago, added: ''We have had experience at two clubs where it was a tough challenge and we managed to turn things around. ''

The Barnsley chairman, John Dennis, said Parkin, who has transformed Rochdale from strugglers into Third Division promotion chasers, was always top of his short-list. "His track record is excellent, and he was always the man I wanted," said Dennis.

Uefa announced yesterday that the Arsenal defender Oleg Luzhny has been banned for four European club games for punching Jörg Böhme of Schalke 04 in the face. The Ukrainian was sent off in the 16th minute of last month's 3-1 Champions' League defeat.

Manchester City were last night on the verge of completing the signing of the Bradford City defender David Wetherall, as first revealed in yesterday's Independent. The 30-year-old is believed to be poised to make a £1m-plus switch from Valley Parade after a move to Southampton fell through.

The Crystal Palace chairman, Simon Jordan, admitted yesterday that he would consider allowing Steve Bruce back as manager. Bruce walked out on Palace last week after learning of Birmingham City's interest in him. But Jordan is refusing to let him talk to them and has threatened to allow the situation to drag on indefinitely.

Bruce has had no contact with Palace since his resignation, but Jordan refused to rule out taking him back. He said: "I would have to assess why that U-turn has come about if it happened and gauge how genuine it was. I'd have an open mind about it."

Jordan also revealed his failure to sign Middlesbrough defender Steve Vickers for £500,000 was a factor in Bruce's resignation. Protracted talks to sign the 34-year-old broke down, and Jordan admitted he did not see eye-to-eye with his manager over the deal. He added: ''Several things brought that deal to an abrupt stop. I wasn't prepared to have outrageously diabolical liberties taken with me.

''Vickers refused to move down here and wanted to train at Middlesbrough twice a week because of the travelling. He demanded £250,000 more per year than we had agreed and Middlesbrough demanded £100,000 more on the fee.''