PHIL Parkinson is set for a lunchtime unveiling as Bolton boss after a late change of heart.

Parkinson flew back early from a family holiday last night to signal an end to his near five-year reign with City.

The deal has not yet been completed and contracts still have to be signed, although sources close to the move suggest that will not be an issue.

His appearance at the Macron Stadium later today will finish a whirlwind couple of days after it seemed he had been ruled out of the running for the managerial vacancy.

The Telegraph & Argus understands that while he was away, Parkinson had been talking to new City co-owner Edin Rahic during the week about potential player recruits for next season.

That followed a club statement, issued with the manager’s blessing, that there had been no approach from Bolton.

Bolton joint-chairman Ken Anderson also went public to say they would not be paying compensation for anyone already in a job.

But things then U-turned quickly, with reports from Lancashire later claiming they had bargained a much cheaper deal with City.

While there has been no official comment from either club, Parkinson - who had been open-minded about the situation - told Rahic at that stage that he wanted to go.

Parkinson, who had been on Bolton's radar for a while, wants to take his entire back-room staff with him – assistant Steve Parkin, head of sports science and fitness Nick Allamby and goalkeeping coach Lee Butler.

Chief scout Tim Breacker, a close friend of Parkinson, would also follow.

But again, as it stands, no deal has been struck for any of them.

Should the move go through – and Parkinson famously rejected Huddersfield at the 11th hour when he did not turn up for the press conference – Uwe Rosler would appear to be the overwhelming favourite to replace him at Valley Parade.

But the situation might not be as clear cut as it would seem.

Rahic knows Rosler well through football and his fellow German was spotted at several City games last season, including the play-off semi-final second leg at Millwall three weeks ago.

But Rahic stressed from the start that he was not engineering a way to bring him into the club.

Rahic has indicated he is willing to see the quality of applications first rather than be rushed into an appointment that many fans would think obvious.

Having been pipped by Parkinson for Bolton, Nigel Adkins and Steve Cotterill are likely to be interested in the vacancy. Cotterill tried unsuccessfully for the job in 2010 when Peter Taylor was appointed.

Former City player Neil Redfearn is also expected to throw his name forward as he looks to get back into management after spells with Leeds and Rotherham.

Rahic is likely to be inundated with offers – which is why he may decide not to go straight down the Rosler route.

With Parkinson keen to take his coaching team en masse, whoever comes in will have a blank sheet to work with.

They will also have the opportunity to build their own squad with plenty of holes to be filled.

But City cannot afford to take too long with the selection process for the same reason.

Parkinson’s 274-game reign is set to end just a couple of weeks after Rahic and Rupp completed their takeover from Julian Rhodes and Mark Lawn.

Many observers will have expected the duo to follow the lead of most foreign owners and bring in their own man at the earliest opportunity.

But a club source said the new owners were “huge fans” of what Parkinson had achieved with City and wanted him to stay.