BILLY Davies could yet make a shock return to Nottingham Forest, as the club look for a replacement for Alex McLeish.
But the Scot, who has always said he has 'unfinished business' at the City Ground, will face significant competition for the job.
Swindon Town's enigmatic boss Paolo Di Canio is also on Forest's short-list, as the Al Hasawi family look to appoint the fourth manager of their short tenure.
The Italian is believed to be unsettled at the County Ground, with the League One club beset by financial problems, and has refused to confirm he has a long-term future with the Robins.
"I'm not talking about the rest of the season because we don't know what's going on in the next two days," said Di Canio.
Former Scunthorpe and Southampton boss Nigel Adkins is also in the running.
When contacted by the Post last night, Adkins said he could not comment on other jobs, as he is still officially on gardening leave at Southampton.
But the work he did on the south coast, where he guided the Saints from League One into the Premier League before being controversially sacked last month, would make him a popular choice.
Indeed, an online Post survey saw almost 2,000 fans, out of over 3,000 who voted, say they would like to see Adkins as the next Reds manager.
Although it remains unclear whether there would be legal issues with appointing the highly-rated former physio, because of his ongoing wrangle with Southampton.
There would be no such issue with Davies, although the return of the former manager would divide opinion among supporters.
Some would welcome Davies back with open arms, after seeing him steer the club away from relegation before then guiding them to successive top-six finishes, to secure hero status at the City Ground.
But others still remember his public off-the-field fall-outs with the club hierarchy, which ultimately culminated in his departure in the summer of 2011.
And the issue may yet prove to be redundant, with Davies also understood to have been offered the manager's job at Championship rivals Blackpool.
Davies is understood to have held positive talks with Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston on Monday evening.
Former Notts County, Blackburn, Macclesfield and MK Dons manager Paul Ince is understood to have thrown his hat into the ring.
While another former Forest boss, Paul Hart, remains interested in a return.
Roberto Di Matteo, the former Chelsea, West Brom and MK Dons manager could also be sounded out about the role again, having been approached before McLeish was appointed.
