City want their new manager nailed down before this season is over.

The two club chairmen have drawn up a six-name short-list, which includes current interim boss Peter Jackson.

And they hope to have a man in place in time to have his say on the players whose contracts are up in the summer.

Former Hibs boss John Hughes is one of the two applicants interviewed so far. The others will be spoken to in the next few weeks.

Mark Lawn revealed that City have been approached by managers currently at other clubs.

Dagenham’s John Still remains one of the favourites with the bookies while the likes of Alan Knill at Bury has been frequently linked with Valley Parade.

But Accrington’s John Coleman is out of the reckoning because of the compensation that Stanley were demanding.

Lawn said: “He’s on a long-term contract and they wanted us to fulfill at least 50 per cent of that. No chance.

“There was no point in us interviewing him because the compensation was ridiculous.

“We have had candidates applying that are in jobs already and we’ve talked to chairmen about being able to speak to them.

“Some have let us; some haven’t. But Bradford City have done it the right way and approached the chairmen.

“We are pretty flexible with how it’s going. We need that flexibility to hopefully get the right person for the job.

“There’s no deadline but we’d hope to make a decision by early May. We want whoever’s going to be there in place to make decisions about the retained list.

“If we’ve decided on someone who can’t come in until June or July, we’ll still be talking with him about who he wants to keep next year.”

City have claimed seven points from the four games under Jackson, who is expected to see the campaign through.

Lawn, though, hinted that they may take stock after the weekend home clash with Shrewsbury.

“Peter has certainly brought the spirit of the club up a little bit,” he said. “There’s a bit more bounce in the step of the players and fans than there was three weeks ago.

“The results – two wins, a draw and one defeat – have been steady so far without setting the world alight. The last two performances, as far as I’m concerned, weren’t very good.

“We were flat on Saturday and need more out of them than that.

“It’s probably a big game (for Peter) this week. He’s in the driving seat and it’s down to results.”