Huge interest in Latics post

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 11:33:00

Bayer Leverkusen defender Sebastian Boenisch has extended his contract until 2016 after convincing the club of his worth over the past three months.

Boenisch joined Leverkusen as a free agent at the start of November, initially on a short-term contract until the end of the season.

He was brought in to provide cover for the injured Michal Kadlec and Daniel Schwaab, and settled in quickly.

"It was impressive how quickly Sebastian reached such a significant level after so long without match practice," general manager Wolfgang Holzhauser said.

"He helped us out in a difficult situation and earned everybody's respect in the process."

Boenisch has also earned a recall to the Poland squad during his time with Leverkusen and is now a key figure for the Bundesliga club.

"I am really delighted that I have been able to convince the bosses of Bayer Leverkusen of my quality," the 26-year-old said.

"I am very happy in Leverkusen and I would like to support the club in achieving their objectives in the coming years."

Paul Dickov resigned following Latics' 3-1 defeat to Walsall at the weekend, an eighth defeat in nine matches that leaves the club one point above the League One relegation zone.

"The phone's been ringing off the hook, there's been lots of enquiries," Corney told BBC Radio Manchester on Sunday.

"We've got to try and find the right one. The hardest part of is to find the manager.

"The only good news is I can share it with Notts County because they also got rid of their manager (Keith Curle), so there's a couple of options out there at the moment.

"I've probably already had 25 to 30 applications, it's just incredible. That's via text, via agents, emails.

"That's the nature of football. We're not the biggest club but we are a club in the Football League, there's only 72 of us and the jobs are coveted.

"We're always going to get a lot of applications. I heard the other day there was a club that got rid of their manager in the division below and they had 150 applications. It doesn't surprise me at all."

Oldham host Yeovil on Tuesday and Corney concedes he and his board have no margin for error in appointing Dickov's successor with the games coming thick and fast.

"It's really a case of sitting down with my board and evaluating the candidates," he added. "Obviously you want to do it quickly because we have a game (on Tuesday). At the same time you don't want to make mistakes."