SWANS RELY ON PRIDE OF LEON’S

Club legend agrees caretaker role after snubs

SWANSEA’S search for their next boss has stalled, leaving rookie caretaker Leon Britton in charge for tomorrow’s clash with Crystal Palace.

The Welsh club contacted Louis van Gaal after Paul Clement became their third manager to be sacked in 14 months.

Club chiefs hoped they could persuade the former Manchester United boss to take on the job of lifting the Swans off the bottom of the Premier League.

But talks were not fruitful, forcing them to put club legend Britton in charge for the relegation showdown with Palace, despite only joining the coaching staff last month.

Ryan Giggs and former Everton manager Ronald Koeman quickly ruled themselves out, leaving Swansea scrambling to find their latest saviour.

Frank de Boer (right) is among the candidates, despite being sacked by Palace after failing to win any of their first four Premier League matches without scoring a goal.

Tony Pulis has forged a reputation for keeping sides in the top flight after guiding West Brom and Palace to safety.

But his rigid style of play is said to have put off chairman Huw Jenkins, who is looking for a manager who can conjure a creative spark in front of goal.

They have scored a Premier League low of 10 goals, with four from Chelsea loanee Tammy Abraham. Other potential targets include Gary Rowett, who has lifted Derby into the Championship play-off places despite a tight budget, and Fulham’s Slavisa Jokanovic. Since Brendan Rodgers left for Liverpool in the summer of 2012, five managers have come and gone at the Liberty Stadium and Alan Curtis has done two stints as interim boss. And Britton, 35, who also distanced himself from the permanent job, believes they need to return to the ‘Swansea way’ to spark another great escape.

He said: “It tells its own story that the club has had six managers in three years – it was unheard of for Swansea before.

“People used to speak of us as a model football club for how went about our business.

“It’s been disappointing that we’ve had so many managers in such a short space of time and we need to try and get the club back on track and settle down.

“Moving forward we have to get an idea back, get a manager in place and get some stability back.”