Odds Wide Open for Sunderland Job

The odds are wide open in the race to replace Roy Keane as manager of English Premier League side Sunderland, with caretaker manager Ricky Sbragia a 3.50 Ladbrokes favorite, despite declaring he doesn't want the job.

The 52-year-old Scot was placed in temporary charge of the team after Roy Keane's resignation last week. Keane quit following a run of five defeats in six matches, which left the club sitting in the relegation zone, in 18th place out of 20.

Sbragia was quoted in Britain's Telegraph as saying he wasn't interested in the job, a stance backed up by former protégé and now West Brom captain Jonathan Greening, who said "Some caretakers say they don't really fancy the manager's job and don't mean it but he does... He genuinely prefers being a coach."

Equally surprising is the second-favorite in the odds, Sam Allardyce. The former Bolton and Newcastle manager is said to be on the outer with the Sunderland board because he knocked back their advances in 2006 and then took a job with Newcastle - the northern English club's arch-rival.

All this means the race is wide open, with several other jobless contenders worth consideration: former Scottish national team manager Ally McCoist, 6/1, former Chelsea and Israeli national team manager Avram Grant, 8/1, ex-Charlton Athletic and West Ham manager Alan Curbishley, 8/1, and former Liverpool and French national team manager Gerard Houllier, 13/1.

Dwight Yorke, who is co-assistant to Sbragia during the interim period, is way back behind several other contenders at 34/1, despite expressing interest in the job. Former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson is also 34/1.