WANDERERS will narrow down their options next week as both of the club’s co-owners interview leading candidates for the manager’s job.

The Bolton News understands Dean Holdsworth and Ken Anderson will speak to four men about stepping into the role and end a drawn-out search for the next Whites boss.

Peter Reid will be one of the men considered, having worked with the players for the last few months alongside Jimmy Phillips.

And there is a strong suggestion Nigel Adkins, who was sacked by Sheffield United just a week ago, is another man interesting the Whites’ ownership.

Ex-Wanderers Neil Redfearn and Steve Thompson have also been considered, although it is not known whether they have made the interview shortlist.

It has been a long 10-week wait for frustrated Whites fans, who are anxious to see the rebuilding work begin for next season in League One.

Holdsworth has undertaken an extensive review of the football department and plans have been put in place for a pre-season schedule, including a training base abroad. The chief executive officer has also drawn up a remit for the new manager, which will provide the basis of the final interviews.

Reid has been one of the few managers to poke his head above the parapet and express his interest in the job, and his knowledge of the players he will inherit is bound to work in his favour.

The former Sunderland and Manchester City boss has also worked at League One level before with Plymouth Argyle.

Adkins, meanwhile, is well-known to Anderson having served as manager at Southampton and Reading during takeovers in which the Whites' chairman was involved.

He has an impressive CV of promotions from the third tier, twice leading Scunthorpe United into the Championship, after which he also guided the Saints to back-to-back promotions into the Premier League.

His fortunes since leaving St Mary’s have been mixed – relegation from the top flight with Reading was followed by a difficult spell in the Championship with the Royals.

Adkins then spent less than a year at Bramall Lane, with the Blades finishing in their worst league position in 33 years.

Both Redfearn and Thompson have strong Bolton links, having come through the youth system at the same time in the early eighties at Burnden Park.

Redfearn left his last job at Rotherham United in February, while Thompson has been assistant manager at Preston North End under Simon Grayson.