Ex-Roar defender Dodd in running to replace Aloisi

Former A-League defender Karl Dodd has emerged as a leading contender to replace John Aloisi at Brisbane Roar, as the hunt for a new head coach heats up.

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Currently at the helm of the Guam national team, Dodd, 37, had stints with the Roar and Wellington Phoenix as a player, and was Brisbane’s high performance manager before resigning from the post in March 2017.

It’s believed that Roar owner Nirwan Bakrie is looking seriously at Dodd as a potential long-term replacement for Aloisi, who quit the struggling club three days after Christmas saying he had taken them as far as he could.

The likes of former Central Coast Mariners boss Paul Okon, Liverpool great Robbie Fowler and a plethora of NPL coaches - buoyed by the success of Mark Rudan at Wellington - have also put their hands up.

They include Bentleigh Greens’ John Anastasiadis and Adelaide City’s ex-Roar striker Damian Mori.

Interim coach Darren Davies has been at the helm for a single game, the 2-2 draw against Newcastle Jets.

Queenslander Dodd plans to enlist former Perth Glory and Mariners striker Daniel McBreen, currently the Newcastle Jets’ Under-15s coach, as his deputy should he land the job.

Dodd has lifted Guam’s FIFA ranking from 203 to 192 since taking charge a year ago.

The US-administered island territory lies in Micronesia and has a population of just 170,000.

The Roar are sitting ninth on the A-League ladder with just one win from the opening 11 games leaving them eight points off the finals spots with a third of the season played.

They tackle A-League leaders Perth at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday looking to breathe life into their suffocating season.