WARRINGTON Wolves are close to finalising a shortlist of candidates to be the club’s next head coach.

Current incumbent Steve Price is leaving the club at the end of 2021 after what will be his fourth season in charge in order to return home to Australia with his family.

When Price announced his decision last month, he said a key consideration of his was giving the club as much time as possible to find his replacement.

While keen not to rush the appointment process, chief executive Karl Fitzpatrick says the club are mindful of taking too long.

“We don’t have a date for when we want it done at this time,” he told the Guardian.

“The shortlist should be formalised in the next week or so then interviews will begin.

“There’s no definitive number for how many will be on that shortlist. We will choose the candidates we think are best placed to deliver success for us.

“Whether we narrow that down to two or three people or five or six, we’ll go through the applications and see who is the right fit for what we need at this time.

“It will be a thorough process so we don’t want to put pressure on ourselves.

“As I say though, players are off-contract so we’re not going to dawdle.”

Fitzpatrick said the club have received “really strong” applicants for the role, both from these shores and from the NRL.

He also says assistant coaches Andrew Henderson and Lee Briers will be given the chance to have discussions about stepping up to the main job should they wish to.

“You always have a bit of a succession plan in place in any key role. That has to happen so that we’re not starting from Ground Zero as it were,” he said.

“We’ve had some really strong applicants, both from the UK and from overseas.

“Once we’ve gone through them and compiled that shortlist, the interview process will begin.

“We can’t take too long to it, but we don’t want to rush it as well. It has to be the right fit.

“It’s the right thing to do to have a discussion with people already at the club.

“Whether they want the job or not, I’m not sure but it’s right to give them the chance to put forward their suggestions and whether they think they are the right fit.”