West Ham will turn to Jones if McClaren bid fails - Exclusive
Published 23:00 21/04/10 By Neil McLeman and Alan Nixon
Dave Jones is a surprise candidate to become the next West Ham manager.
Former England boss Steve McClaren remains the No.1 choice of the Upton Park board to replace Gianfranco Zola in the summer.
Why Dave Jones would be the right man to take West Ham forward, by Martin Lipton
But Jones' achievement of leading cash-strapped Cardiff into the Championship play-offs has impressed Hammers' owners David Sullivan and David Gold.
Liverpool-born Jones, 53, spent three years in the Premier League with Southampton and then took Wolves into the top-flight for a single season in 2004.
He has been at Cardiff since 2005 and took the Bluebirds to the 2008 FA Cup final, while selling Aaron Ramsay and Roger Johnson at huge profits.
Cardiff are still carrying debts of around £20m and face a High Court date with the taxman on May 5 over an unpaid bill of £1.7m.
MirrorFootball revealed that McClaren was the manager West Ham wanted on March 30 and - despite denials from the McClaren camp since - the Hammers are confident they can get their man.
West Ham want McClaren as new boss - Exclusive
The Yorkshireman, who has also attracted the interest of Hamburg after a great season with FC Twente in Holland, has refused to consider any offers until the end of the season.
But the Upton Park outfit want McClaren to give them an answer immediately the campaign is over.
Any job offer to the former Boro boss would depend on West Ham staying in the top-flight. And the 48-year-old, who is one win away from winning the Dutch title with FC Twente, might have to be convinced to turn his back on the Champions League to return to the Premier League.
Hammers have been dealing with the project via third parties and there seems to be some friction over who would finally do the deal to bring McClaren in - and that has also to be sorted out.
McClaren has been out of English club football since leaving Middlesbrough for the England post in 2006. He was interviewed for the Blackburn job before going to Holland.
