ON the day Stuart Pearce was sacked, would-be City owner Thaksin Shinawatra touched down for a first look at the club.

Former Thai PM Shinawatra and his party landed in a helicopter and were given a whistle-stop tour of the Eastlands Stadium and City's training centres at Platt Lane and Carrington where they met Academy staff and saw at first hand the impressive facilities.

Shinawatra - who is worth close to £2billion - has emerged as a clear front-runner in the take over battle for the club and an announcement is expected in the short-term. That would give the new boss time to wheel and deal in the transfer market this summer.

City, meanwhile, have pledged to think big as the board begin to ponder just who will succeed Stuart Pearce and the signs are pointing to a continental appointment.

Louis Van Gaal and Ronald Koeman are the latest to be added to a wish-list that is thought to include Gerard Houllier (Lyon) and Claudio Ranieri (Parma).

They are in jobs, but immediately available and fit the international standing required by City's potential Thai consortium owner as do ex-England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson and former Italy coach Marcello Lippi.

Concerns

Paul Jewell, who quit Wigan at almost the same time Pearce was receiving his P45 from chief executive Alistair Mackintosh, is not believed to be on City's hit list.

Jewell, whose chairman Dave Whelan revealed health concerns as one of the reasons for him stepping down, would not fit the Thai's high profile for the next Blues manager.

And, in any case, Eastlands fans would not be impressed by a new boss whose team finished below City in the Premiership.

Pearce - City's 21st manager since Joe Mercer - had been a dead man walking for the past three months.

The five man Blues' board knew as soon as the normally loyal fan base dwindled and began to regularly boo the team that they would have to wield the axe.

Supporters were restless over the Blues' inability to score or even entertain at home, and it got no better with City picking up the unwanted record of having scored the least number of goals at their home ground in Premiership history.

United's stroll to a 1-0 derby victory which helped crown them champions with an FA Cup final at the new Wembley to come didn't help the mood.

The City board opted to stick by Pearce until the end of the season although M.E.N. Sport understand the directors had unofficially agreed earlier this month that Pearce would go soon after Sunday's defeat at Tottenham.

If the takeover breaks down and Wardle stays on as chairman, the Blues would scour the domestic market to replace Pearce.

Targets include Paul Simpson (Preston), Billy Davies (Derby), ed-Reds Gordon Strachan (Celtic) and Mark Hughes (Blackburn) and the already available Graeme Souness.

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