NEWPORT County are expecting to announce a new manager this week with England legend Terry Butcher the front-runner to replace Jimmy Dack.

The 77-times capped former central defender, who skippered England to the World Cup semi-final in 1990, has been in talks with the Exiles for a fortnight since initially applying for the post back in January when Justin Edinburgh quit for Gillingham.

However, at the time, the Exiles board felt that the expense of appointing a permanent successor to Edinburgh, coupled with the potential instability it could cause among the playing squad, was a move that could wait until the summer.

The Argus can reveal that County expected to announce Wayne Hatswell as their interim manager and were surprised that Edinburgh didn’t attempt to take Dack with him to Priestfield Stadium.

Dack then indicated he would like to replace Edinburgh until the end of the campaign and he was assured he’d be given a chance to audition for a permanent role.

And until the Dagenham and Redbridge game last weekend, Dack was intent on remaining in the post for next season. It is understood he had a change of heart last week and informed the County board on Monday that he no longer wanted to be considered for the job.

That intensified efforts from the County board to look to make a permanent appointment and it is understood they held interviews throughout last week, with Butcher, James Beattie, Paul Cox, Mark Yates and ex-England U21 boss Peter Taylor among the more high profile applicants.

And Butcher, a former Premier League boss with Sunderland and recently a big success in Scotland with Inverness, is understood to be the front-runner.

As ever, any decision will be made by committee, with the County board of all voting on their preferred candidate.

Butcher was last in charge of Hibernian, but left after just seven months in the role. He’s also understood to be on Portsmouth’s radar, but is said to prefer the challenge on offer at Rodney Parade.

Manager Dack is expected to confirm his departure early this week, with the possibility that Butcher could even be at Rodney Parade on Saturday for the home clash with Oxford.