HARROGATE Town chairman Bill Fotherby is dredging his Leeds United contacts book in his search for the right man to lead his team into the Conference.

Manager John Reed and his assistant Mark Atkins dramatically left Wetherby Road on Thursday after a huge offer from Stalybridge Celtic to get them out of the Conference North relegation mire.

The search is now on for Reed's replacement with managerial giants including Gordon Strachan and Gary McAllister on Fotherby's wish list.

He said: "There's plenty of people out there who want this job and I have already been inundated with calls.

"I am looking for somebody good like Gordon Strachan, Gary McAllister or Eddie Gray - I will be getting in touch with all of them."

Both Strachan and Gray live in the area.

The club has been left reeling by the speed and manner of Reed's departure to Conference North stragglers Stalybridge, who are seven points adrift in the race to avoid relegation in contrast to high-flying Harrogate Town, who are three points off the top.

"I'm still in shock really," said Fotherby. "For the money they offered him they could have taken the entire team but they are desperate and everything now hinges on him.

"It was a complete shock to everybody here and I am very disappointed in the fact that they never gave us a chance to try to persuade him to stay.

"They never contacted me to ask my permission to speak to him. It's been done very secretly and behind closed doors - I had no idea until Thursday afternoon."

Former Leicester City and Hull City midfielder Lee Philpott, who was as stunned as any at the switch, has been asked to hold the reins while Fotherby carries out his search for a more permanent solution.

Philpott said: "I only joined the club five weeks ago and one of the big factors of me going to the club was the manager and his assistant, because I knew Mark Atkins from my playing days at Hull.

"They were really the reason why I came here and now they have left.

"The chairman phoned me and asked if I would take the team for Saturday and decisions will be made after that as to when they are bringing in another manager."

Philpott added he had not given the prospect of a full-time post much consideration with his focus still very much on playing for the time-being.

He said: "When I came to Harrogate Town, coaching and managing was something I had not thought about before but I love the game and always thought at the back of my mind that maybe it was something I would go into in the future.

"I'm 34 now but I'm still fit and still feel that I am good enough to play but these opportunities are thrown at you when you least expect them."

Updated: 12:10 Saturday, January 15, 2005