Swindon Town chairman Andrew Fitton says he could be interviewing candidates for Maurice Malpas’ job by the end of the week.

Fitton is expecting up to 50 applications,with Ian Holloway, former Watford boss Aidy Boothroyd, recently-ousted QPR manager Iain Dowie and former Cheltenham man Steve Cotterill as possible frontrunners for the job.

But bookmakers Victor Chandler suspended betting on the Town vacancy over the weekend after former Carlisle boss John Ward was backed down from 12-1 to 3-1.

Fitton has stressed the club are in no rush to appoint, insisting they will take the time to get it right following Malpas’s 10-month reign.

Fitton has already received applications from out-of-work and current managers and believes the League One side might attract bigger names this time round.

“Maybe the job is more attractive than it was a year ago,” he said.

“We are a stable club now, with a squad of players who aren’t bad and people may feel that we are worth coming to. I’d be surprised if we didn’t get nearly 50 applications.

“I’ve spoken to a number already but haven’t met with anyone and certainly haven’t offered anyone the job yet.

“We are expecting to meet with some in the current week and whatever happens, I’ll be supported by (chief executive) Nick Watkins in any interview.

“I would be surprised if something was announced before the Peterborough game. When you’ve got a safe pair of hands in Dave Byrne then we don’t need to rush into these things.

“We want to get everything right in terms of the package and other things, plus the candidate may want to go away and talk it over with his wife.”

The chairman refused to rule out the appointment of a recently-retired player.

He said: “As well as the main meat of the list, what’s the chance that something comes completely out of left-field “There’s a couple of ex-players who are interested in following what the likes of (Roberto) Di Matteo and (Gianfranco) Zola have done.

“But it’s difficult not to have someone who can demonstrate a track record.

“If an overseas or English player put their name into the hat we would probably be tempted but still say ‘I can’t afford to get this wrong’.”

Following Town’s 2-2 draw with Leicester on Saturday, caretaker boss Byrne also staked his claim in taking on the job full-time.