Newcastle United have received 'scores of applications' for the role of Under-23 manager, according to The Daily Mail's Craig Hope. 

The lowdown

The Newcastle youth compete in the second division of the Under-23 Premier League. They finished bottom of the pile last season with 25 points from their 24 matches.

In August, Chris Hogg left his coaching post to take up an assistant's role at League One outfit Milton Keynes Dons.

Newcastle academy product Gary Caldwell has taken over on an interim basis while an 'external recruitment process' takes place.

The young Magpies have made a solid start to the new season, collecting seven points from their first four matches to sit fourth in the table.

The latest

Hope was asked by a supporter on Twitter whether he had ideas of who the leading applicant is at this stage.

He's 'heard' that there has been plentiful interest in the position.

Newcastle are considering 'a trial period' whereby 'a few candidates' are given the opportunity to take sessions with the players and demonstrate their coaching talents.

The verdict

Newcastle made some good additions to their Under-23 ranks over the summer, most notably recruiting Santiago Munoz from Mexico, Remi Savage from Liverpool and Charlie Wiggett.

It's an exciting group who should be finishing higher up the table and catching the eye of Steve Bruce. It's encouraging to see the club being so thorough, and fans may well be hoping that this isn't the only coaching change on Tyneside in the coming months.

In other news, one well-placed source has issued a damning verdict of Steve Bruce.