JIMMY Quinn has emerged as the leading contender for the vacant Weymouth manager’s job.
The former Shrewsbury boss watched from the directors’ box as the Terras slumped to another Wessex Stadium defeat against Newport County on Saturday.
The ex-Bournemouth star is the latest to be linked to the position along with Stuart Morgan, Gary Hill, Mark Morris, Shaun Teale and Steve King.
Chairman Martyn Harrison refused to be drawn on whether Quinn headed a list of candidates.
And despite Weymouth’s woeful performance, the millionaire hotel owner insists he is in no rush to appoint Johnson’s successor.
He said: “I’m not going to be drawn on names at this moment in time although there have been some really exciting applicants.
“We’re planning to meet some of the candidates who impress us in the coming days and take things from there.
“In the meantime, Gary Borthwick, John Waldock, Roy O’Brien along with Dave Kiteley will continue running things until we make a decision on who the new man is.
“The Newport game was really disappointing – there seems to be no confidence in the side at the moment.
“But we’re not going to panic into making a rush appointment off the back of that performance because we want to make sure we get it right.
“If we have to wait until the summer to get the right man we will.
But we’ve got to ensure we remain in Conference South and that means ending this bad run we’re on as soon as possible to prevent the slide.
“I’m confident that will happen though because despite recent performances, we’ve got some quality players who can get the results needed.”
After asking Johnson to cut the wage bill at the Wessex Stadium, Harrison says the Terras will not set any criteria for the new manager.
“We haven’t got any specifications we’ve got to ensure we remain in or anything like that, all we want is the right man for Weymouth Football” he said.
”All I know is that there is a lot of interest in the job, as has been shown in the last few days.
It’s a big job and an attractive one at this level of the game given the resources available.
But as I’ve previously said, I’m not a patient person and I don’t want to wait for this club to be successful so the new man has to be the right person.”
