STEVE DOWNES Norwich City have already had some “high calibre” candidates getting in touch to bid to take over from sacked manager Nigel Worthington.Less than a day after Worthington was dismissed following a 4-1 home humiliation against Burnley, chief executive Neil Doncaster revealed that the Carrow Road phones had been ringing as the hunt for a new boss began in earnest.

STEVE DOWNES

Norwich City have already had some “high calibre” candidates getting in touch to bid to take over from sacked manager Nigel Worthington.

Less than a day after Worthington was dismissed following a 4-1 home humiliation against Burnley, chief executive Neil Doncaster revealed that the Carrow Road phones had been ringing as the hunt for a new boss began in earnest.

At a press conference alongside joint majority shareholder Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones, Doncaster also paid warm tribute to the ousted boss.

He said: “He will always be regarded as one of the great figures in Norwich's history. He is an excellent professional and the dignity he showed on Sunday night came as no surprise to me and reflected very well on him as a man.”

The three board members would not be drawn on who they had in mind to replace Worthington, although Wynn Jones said they “knew the qualities they were looking for”.

Coach Martin Hunter has been placed in temporary charge and is one of the early favourites for the post, along with former player Mark Bowen - now assistant to Mark Hughes at Blackburn - Alex McLeish and Alan Curbishley.

Doncaster said: “We have said the process of finding a new manager has begun. I won't be speculating on who that might be, but what I can say is that we have already received an encouraging number of enquiries and expressions of interest.

“The club enjoys a fantastic level of support. The number of season ticket holders we have is looked upon with envy by a number of clubs in the Football League.

“It's very important we move forward, together as one, and get the right man in the job and get on with the business of turning this season around.”

Delia added: “It's been extremely difficult. It's so disappointing when things go wrong. Now we have to try to put things right.”

She added: “Nigel's a good manager and he will move on and have similar success at another club. We will also move on and have similar success.”

Amid mounting criticism of the players' recent efforts, she refused to be critical, but added it was a “mystery” why players could perform so well in one game and so badly in another.