Italian superstar Ravanelli ruled out of Motherwell manager's job

Fabrizio Ravanelli pictured playing for Dundee, with whom he had a brief playing spell in the 2003-2004 season

The 48-year-old ex-Italian international striker – nicknamed The White Feather – was one of around 50 applicants wanting to replace axed Mark McGhee, but Motherwell board members have elected not to interview him.

At a Fir Park summit on Tuesday evening, Motherwell chief operating officer Alan Burrows and board members ruled out around 45 candidates including Ravanelli and ex-Spanish international Albert Ferrer.

But interim gaffer stephen Robinson has made the final cut of five names, with interviews likely to take place on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

This means that Northern Irishman Robinson (42) – who impressed when leading Motherwell to a vital 2-1 success at Kilmarnock last Saturday – will have a further chance to boost his credentials by getting a positive result against Aberdeen at Pittodrie this Saturday.

The latest bookies odds have Robinson as the 2/1 second favourite to land the Motherwell gaffer’s job permanently, behind 5/4 favourite Jim Duffy.

Other names in the frame include Owen Coyle, Billy Davies and John Hughes.

Motherwell supremo Burrows said: “We’ve had applications from all over the world, as well as a healthy amount of managers from the British Isles.

“I would take the bookies’ odds with a pinch of salt.

“What I will say is that Jim Duffy has done an excellent job at Morton. And everyone at this football club thinks extremely highly of Stephen, an experienced Pro Licence coach who helped Northern Ireland reach the last 16 of the Euros.

“Our team looked extremely organised at Kilmarnock on Saturday and the players were battling hard for him.”