NEWCASTLE UNITED'S search for a new manager remains directed towards Martin O'Neill, although there is growing interest in the vacancy from abroad.

Former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier has emerged as the latest man to have contacted the St James' Park board to air his attraction for the post.

But O'Neill is still the number one choice in chairman Freddy Shepherd's eyes and there is a growing determination to land his man.

The Northern Irishman, believed to have been approached on a couple of occasions by the Newcastle chief, is still not in a position to commit to the job because he is waiting to learn whether his wife is on her way to recovering from serious illness.

O'Neill is also high on the list of candidates for the England job when Sven-Goran Eriksson quits at the end of the World Cup.

It is for those two reasons Shepherd knows he cannot discount any possibilities in his search for Graeme Souness' permanent successor, meaning Houllier still has a chance of making a return to the Premiership.

The fact the Frenchman is a close friend of caretaker boss Glenn Roeder can only count in his favour if Newcastle do have to revert to Plan B in their search.

The pair have been in contact ever since Houllier, then at Liverpool, invited Roeder to do some coaching work at Anfield after leaving West Ham.

And, since being sacked by the Reds, Houllier's stock has risen again after guiding Lyon to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, where they drew the first leg with AC Milan on Wednesday night.

Another understood to have been in touch with Newcastle, albeit through his representatives, is Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini.

But, despite the short betting odds suggesting otherwise, the Italian is likely to be way down Shepherd's list of targets.

Among those to have been considered are Bolton's Sam Allardyce, Wigan's Paul Jewell, Manchester City's Stuart Pearce and Birmingham's Steve Bruce.

Caretaker boss Roeder, meanwhile, has insisted that winger Albert Luque's season is not over, despite suffering a sprained ankle.

Luque has had a nightmare first season on Tyneside and that got worse on Monday night when he had to limp out of a reserve team match with Aston Villa.

His World Cup dream for Spain is now in serious doubt but Roeder claims he could play again this season.

"Albert will be out for a couple of weeks. It's unfortunate for him but the fact of the matter is that he needed match practice and it was a good idea to give him a reserve game.

"You can't wrap them up in cotton wool all the time. You can get injured in training and in this case it didn't work out."

Luque will miss the games with Tottenham tomorrow and Middlesbrough but, if all goes well, could be back for the visit of Wigan on April 15.

Roeder has also confirmed Scott Parker could have played his last game of the season as they await tests to see whether he has contracted glandular fever.

The 25-year-old has been playing with an illness for the past month and Roeder said: "The latest situation is that Scott will stay at his home in Newcastle for the next week.

"His condition will then be monitored by our medical team.

"It is probable he will have further tests to determine whether he has glandular fever, just what strain it is and the strength of it."

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