Jim Harvey’s stock in the race to become Kidderminster Harriers manager has risen over the weekend with the boss today a free agent after leaving Chester City.

The 51-year-old’s departure from the Deva Stadium was confirmed this morning, with controversial former Halesowen owner Morrell Maison already installed in his place.

Harvey’s track record fits Harriers chairman Barry Norgrove’s profile of the new manager perfectly, with non-league experience as a boss stretching back 15 years.

Today, the former Northern Ireland assistant manager set his sights towards the vacant hot-seat at Aggborough.

He said: “Kidderminster Harriers is a job I would be very interested in. I want to be working again as quickly as possible, and it would be nice if I could go there.

“I obviously live fairly local to the area, so it suits me perfectly.”

But Stalybridge boss Steve Burr is all but out of the running, after chairman Rob Gorski revealed he had turned down an approach from an unnamed Blue Square Premier club to speak to their manager.

Another front runner for the job, former Harriers defender Jeff Kenna, is one of the few to be confirmed as a formal applicant.

The 39-year-old has been out-of-work since resigning as boss of Irish top-flight outfit St Patrick’s Athletic in September, and has since been working as a community coach at Birmingham City.

Kenna is now waiting by the phone to hear what will happen next.

He said: “My name is certainly in there, I spoke to the chairman about the job and he told me to get my CV over, which I have done, and we will take it from there. The deadline for applications has been and gone, so hopefully I will hear something regarding an interview.

“All I do is wait, and whoever else has applied is in exactly the same boat.”

Kenna is a relative novice in the management world compared to Harvey but worked wonders under severe financial constraints in his first post at Galway United, before going to St Patrick’s.

The one-time Premier League winner may have no experience as a boss at Blue Square Premier level, but was a player in the top-flight of non-league as recently as 2008.

He said: “I know what the Blue Square Premier is about, I played at that level for two years and the league hasn’t changed that much in a year and a half.

“I have got management experience in Ireland, I have took a team into Europe, so what may be perceived as a lack of experience is not quite what it seems.”

Caretaker manager John Finnigan is set to miss out on another chance to impress tomorrow night, with Harriers expected to call off the FA Trophy tie at home to Lewes after a pitch inspection today.