HOPES of making significant early moves in the transfer market will depend on the time it takes Blackburn Rovers to find a successor to Ray Harford.

And the search does not - at the moment - promise to come to a rapid conclusion.

A telephone call from an interested party could change all that.

For Rovers, I believe, have decided on the type of manager they want to install and he will almost certainly be an experienced figure capable of bringing in players from abroad as well as challenging for the pick of the domestic crop.

With only one match, Sunday's Premiership clash with Liverpool, scheduled in a near-three-week spell, there isn't the burden of a heavy programme to concern the club.

But the downside of it all is that the fans cannot expect any major signings until a new boss takes charge.

No new names have cropped up but everyone in football is well aware of the vacancy.

Howard Kendall is a hot favourite for the job with Bradlow Racing, who also have Jack Charlton and Joe Kinnear high in the betting.

Odds: 6-4 Howard Kendall, 3-1 Terry Venables, 5-1 Jack Charlton, 6-1 Joe Kinnear, 7-1 Howard Wilkinson, 8-1 Bruce Rioch, 10-1 Johan Cruyff, Tony Parkes, Dave Bassett, 12-1 John Toshack, Jim Smith, 16-1 Jurgen Klinsmann, Roy Hodgson, 20-1 George Graham, 25-1 Kenny Dalglish.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.