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We have to come to terms with the reduction in the salary cap that's something we don't have any choice about

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We have to come to terms with the reduction in the salary cap; that's something we don't have any choice about."Leeds have followed up their re-signing of their oldest player, Daryl Powell, by securing the services of one of their youngest for another two seasons. ST HELENS are trying to negotiate a deal that will keep their Great Britain scrum-half, Sean Long, at the club beyond the expiry of his current contract at the end of next season. "Although there is a year to run on his contract, he is a player we rate very highly and we have already talked to him about improved terms," Saints' manager, Eric Hughes, said. Long, a bargain buy from Widnes in 1997, made his Test debut against New Zealand last autumn and would be much sought after if he ever decided to leave Knowsley Road.Although he missed Saints' high-scoring 42-34 victory over Wakefield Trinity last Sunday with a calf injury, Long will return for the match against Warrington this weekend that could knock one of the other play- off candidates out of contention.Reports in Australia suggest that Saints have made an improved offer to their former player, Jarrod McCracken, for next season.The New Zealand Test back-rower was one of the causes of the row between the Saints coach, Ellery Hanley, and his board earlier this season, when Hanley was suspended after criticising his board for, among other things, failing to sign him.McCracken, now playing for Parramatta in Australia, is out of contract at the end of the season and an enhanced offer could see him on his way back to St Helens, for whom he played as a young centre in the 1992-93 season.But Hughes warned that nothing was confirmed yet. "With 20 like him you could win anything."Football, it seems, could do with fewer mercenaries and more missionaries.WAITING FOR THE CALLGraeme Souness(ex-Rangers, Liverpool, Southampton, Benfica - recently linked with director of football job at Hearts)Howard Kendall(ex-Blackburn, Everton, Athletic Bilbao, Xanthi, Ethnikos)David Webb(ex-Brentford, Chelsea)Bobby Gould(ex-Bristol Rovers, Wimbledon, Wales)Keith Burkinshaw(ex-Tottenham, West Bromwich, Gillingham, Sporting Lisbon, Bahrain, Aberdeen director of football)Denis Smith(ex-York, Sunderland, Oxford United, West Bromwich)Mark McGhee(ex-Reading, Leicester, Wolves)Roy Evans(ex-Liverpool)Frank Clark(ex-Orient, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City)Terry Venables(ex-Crystal Palace, QPR, Barcelona, Tottenham, England, Australia)Steve McMahon(ex-Swindon)Ray Harford(ex-Luton, Blackburn, West Bromwich, QPR)Glenn Hoddle(ex-Swindon, Chelsea, England)Bobby Robson(ex-Ipswich, England, PSV Eindhoven, Porto, Sporting Lisbon, Barcelona). He made the point, though, of absolving the Italian midfielder Stefanio Eranio from that criticism. "We needed to kick on but one or two of the foreigners were too shrewd for that and had switched off," he said. Unfortunately in England that isn't always the case; you may get half a dozen who have been out on the piss all night - although that happens less often these days - or players who hold grievances against you and are reluctant to do anything."That said, Harford blamed the foreigners at Derby for not achieving a place in Europe last season once Premiership survival had been secured.

I remember Ron Atkinson saying, the short while he was in Spain, how willing the players were to work. "I think it's better because you can be a better coach there; you can prepare properly for games. Bobby Robson has often said he became a better coach abroad because of that. That's why at 18 to 21 we struggle internationally."Harford, to the surprise of many, was Dalglish's automatic choice as coach when he took the job at Blackburn and it is generally believed that when Alan Shearer eventually moves into management, as he inevitably will, Harford will also be at his side.When Smith chose to adopt a more hands-on approach at Pride Park this season, the "flying doc" decided it was better that he moved on, although he now appears to have taken on a terminal case at Selhurst Park in Crystal Palace, where he is doing the coaching for Steve Coppell."If someone would grant me a wish I'd like a couple of years coaching abroad," he said. It's just a case of managers picking the team and getting them out there, often twice a week, to play."The only ones who are coaching now are the academies, where there is a much more professional set-up these days, but once the first- and second- year pros move on the coaching stops when they most need it, unless they are good enough to be involved with the first team.

First and reserve team coaches can only coach to a certain degree, otherwise they may be seen to be queering the pitch. Harford presented a damning indictment of the state of English football when he said: "There are not many managers who actually coach in the Premier League apart from some of the foreign managers In fact there's not much coaching done, full stop. "They should use our brains."The win-at-all-costs mentality of many clubs today, coupled with the demands of too many games, means that managers have less and less time to coach. Sometimes it's difficult for them to know what's going on because of the politics and bad relations that may exist among the staff."Harford believes it is a tough enough job for experienced managers like Smith, who he considers the best in the game for his all-round ability, never mind the apprentice managers of which there are a growing number. At a time when managers need to be better prepared, to handle things like company politics and players on vastly inflated salaries with egos to match, the opposite is true."When I was a young manager I would have loved to have been able to bring in people like Malcolm Allison and Dave Sexton because I could have learnt from them," Harford said. Ray Harford, who helped Kenny Dalglish steer Blackburn Rovers to the Premiership title five seasons ago, believes that there is a desperate need for what he calls "flying doctors" to help out at clubs. The Derby manager, Jim Smith, called for his old pal when Steve McLaren left to become assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United last season."I think I was good for Jimmy because I was able to talk to him about what he really wanted to know," said the 54-year-old Harford."There's a crying need for people like me, with no ulterior motives, to go into clubs - particularly in the Premier League where the pressures are so great - and help out some of these managers.

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