91Èȱ¬

Stevenage have confirmed Graham Westley may be appointed manager of the club for a third time.

The League One club sacked former boss Gary Smith earlier this month following a run of 14 defeats in 18 games.

In February, Westley, 45, was sacked as manager of Preston North End after just over a year in charge.

Chairman Phil Wallace told the "Of course Graham is in the frame - his past achievements for the club would put him in a good position."

Wallace said Westley, who previously managed Stevenage between 2003-6 and 2008-12 and oversaw back-to-back promotions from the Conference to League One in his second spell, was on a short-list of three.

He continued: "I'm long over the events of a year ago [when Westley left to join Preston]. I always understood the opportunity he had and his reasons for wanting to leave, I just didn't agree with the timing but that's history.

"I'd hope that we can make an appointment over the weekend. If we don't then we'll get some help in for [caretaker player-manager] Mark [Roberts] on the training ground and carry on as we are for a while."

Former Oldham manager Paul Dickov, and ex-Luton manager Paul Buckle are also understood to be being considered for the position.