Steve Bruce remains in running for Wolves job

New bookies favourite Steve Bruce today dismissed weekend claims that he has withdrawn from the Wolves' manager job race as it entered its second week.

The Molineux club now accept there is as much chance of an appointment after this weekend's Newcastle game as before it – but one man definitely still in the running is the former Birmingham, Wigan and Sunderland boss.

For reasons not yet confirmed, it's now gone distinctly cool on last week's favourite Alan Curbishley succeeding Mick McCarthy but Bruce has let it be known he has not pulled himself out of the running.

He met owner Steve Morgan and chief executive Jez Moxey on Friday in Cheshire, having travelled down from Newcastle for the interview.

Reports suggested that Wolves were only offering a short-term 13-game "keep us up and we'll take it from there" deal and Bruce rejected the proposal because he felt a new manager could not hope to establish any authority with the players under such a brief.

But these claims, which were repeated to explain a cooling in Curbishley's interest, have been firmly denied at Molineux and by Bruce.

Moxey broke cover at the weekend as Wolves became increasingly exasperated at the speculation swirling around the vacancy much of which he described as "absolute rubbish".

Cautioning fans to remain patient and insisting the club were proposing long-term contracts, he said Wolves were "about halfway through the process and it was going well."

But more meetings, plus a round of second interviews, were being lined up – and Moxey admitted it was now uncertain that McCarthy's successor would be in place before the weekend.

Moxey said: "I think we are just about on schedule to keep to what we said which was, if at all possible, that we'd like a new manager in before our away game to Newcastle United. We can't be absolutely sure that will be the time frame but ideally that is what we want to do."