INTERVIEWING begins on Monday for the vacant manager's post at Colne.

Five candidates to date have thrown their hat in the ring.

Two have previous experience of managing North West Counties' League sides.

Another has been assistant boss for a UniBond League outfit.

Temporary incumbent Ken Bracewell has more coaching experience than the lot of them put together.

But, at 60, he has as much intention of staying in the job as he has of abseiling down one of the Pyramids.

Called in following Keith Mason's work-induced resignation a couple of weeks ago, Bracewell says he is momentarily holding the fort.

"I'm on the committee at Holt House and when Keith left I said I'd do the job until they find somebody else," said Bracewell, a Colne native who began a colourful career at Burnley before spells at Tranmere, Bury, Rochdale, Canada and the United States. "People have worked hard on refurbishing the stadium and helping to put together a side that can play decent football.

"We're giving people something to aim for and we've got some promising kids coming through the ranks.

"I reckon we can put a half-decent side together and start collecting some points with the right man in charge."

Mason resigned in the wake of a 4-2 extra-time defeat to Bacup Borough in the preliminary round of the NWCL Second Division Cup.

But it was pressures imposed by his job at Burnley plumbing firm H & V Controls (where he has recently been promoted), rather than pressure on the football field, that triggered his departure.

"The club understands my position," said Mason.

"I made my decision purely because of work commitments. "That's the only reason."

Mason accepted the Colne job without payment and his replacement will be subject to the same agreement.

He should be in place by the end of the month but Bracewell warns that a short-term fix will not be a practical option.

"It's a time-consuming job and a job that will require a lot of patience," he said (Colne have only managed to gain one point in the campaign so far but the results belie a squad that is emerging all the time).

"The person has got to have that commitment and time.

"He's got to have the experience to benefit the young talent that's coming through.

"He will have the interests of the club at heart and be willing to put the hours in to advance this club to the level we wish to attain."

Hard work and dedication is the ethos by which Bracewell has lived his life.

After a successful career in England he departed for America in 1968 (From '63 he had been travelling to Canada where he played with Toronto).

Spells in Atlanta and Denver followed before he accepted a coaching post in Oakland, California.

"I learned a lot from Ladislav Kubala, the former Spanish coach, who was a big influence on me," recalled Bracewell.

"He always had time for players who weren't possessed with his brilliance. "He dealt with each player according to their different strengths and that's a lead I've tried to follow."

Ken returned home in '84 with Bruce Osterman who bought Tranmere Rovers and made Bracewell chief executive and vice chairman, a move he now concedes was "the wrong decision at the wrong time".

Back he went to North California where he coached from '85 to '87.

But two incidents persuaded him to return home for good - he was in San Francisco when the earthquake struck in '91 and he broke his collarbone, for which he had to pay the ambulance service $583 for transporting him nine miles.

"That was criminal and it makes you wonder about people here who criticise the NHS - they don't appreciate what they've got," he said.

Colne FC fully appreciate the man they've got at the helm at least temporarily.

If he was just 20 years younger.

Bracewell reports no injury worries for tomorrow's match away to Blackpool Mechanics and the squad will remain the same as that which lost to Castleton Gabriels last week.

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