Cliftonville's hopes of landing one of the their 'top targets' to replace Paddy McLaughlin could be dashed as his current club are preparing to offer him a new deal to stay.
Diarmuid O'Carroll, who won back-to-back league titles with the Reds is believed to top the list to take over the reins at Solitude following McLaughlin's departure.
But prising the 36-year-old away from his current club St Mirren may prove difficult as the Buddies are said to be preparing to offer O'Carroll and boss Stephen Robinson new deals with the club.
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The duo have done an incredible job in Paisley after taking over from Jim Goodwin last February.
They are well in the mix for a top six spot and currently lie just six points off Aberdeen in third and a point off a potential European place.
O'Carroll has built up a strong partnership with Robinson following their spells together at Motherwell and Morecambe.
The former striker has also recently taking up a coaching role as part of Michael O'Neill's backroom team in the senior Northern Ireland set-up.
O'Carroll's stock is certainly high and he looks set to move into management at some stage, whether that be at Cliftonville or not, even though Robinson joked he would be mad to make the step up to be a manager.
"I think Diarmuid is crazy if he wants to be a manager though and I have told him that," he told Renfrewshire Live.
“He should stick to what he is doing and enjoy life without the madness of being a manager.
“Anyone who moves into management needs their head examined, and I include myself in that!
“But in terms of his talent, he is an ambitious guy and I think he is on a great career path and he could go on to big things."
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