Global agency to draw up list of candidates for the Bluebirds

CARDIFF City have enlisted the help of leading global sports agency Wasserman to draw up a shortlist of candidates to become the next Bluebirds manager.

- GLEN WILLIAMS

The club sacked manager Omer Riza last month and tasked Aaron Ramsey with trying to keep Cardiff in the Championship with three matches as interim boss.

However, after two draws and a defeat, the Bluebirds' fate was sealed and they will play next season in League One.

Cardiff have reiterated the impor-tance of getting back into the Championship at the earliest possible opportunity and that starts with making the right managerial appointment this summer.

In an ideal world, it would also consist of bringing in more football-ing knowledge at board level in order to help with decision-making.

However, in lieu of a director of football appointment, we under-stand that Wasserman have been asked to handle the search for Riza's permanent successor.

The agency has been given a remit by Cardiff to draw up a list of poten-tial candidates to fill the manager's position as the club embark on their first campaign in the third tier for more than two decades.

Wasserman have been asked to whittle down candidates into a shortlist, based on the club's criteria, with their expertise largely targeted in Europe and in North America.

The recruitment process is already well under way, we are told, and once the shortlist has been finalised and handed over to the club's deci-sion-makers, the candidates will be subjected to a multi-stage interview process before the board decide on their preferred candidate.