ANDY Tutte has been offered his first coaching job in the new Wanderers B Team set-up.

The Liverpudlian midfielder was one of eight players who was told he would not get a new playing contract in the retained list issued a fortnight ago.

But The Bolton News understands the Whites want to keep Tutte on as a senior figure in the new set-up as a player-coach.

With more than a dozen new signings expected at that level this summer, Wanderers hope to use the 31-year-old as a settling influence in the squad which helps the younger players to progress.

Tutte started his career with Manchester City and though injuries have limited his game time in the last two years at Bolton, he has 320 career appearances witht he likes of Morecambe, Bury and Rochdale under his belt.

Alex Baptiste has also been spoken to about a coaching role but the 36-year-old wants to continue playing for a 20th professional season.

The former Blackpool defender has been reticent about moving into coaching in the past and had been planning a post-football career as an agent.

With a month to go before the start of pre-season training, Wanderers are keen to get the B Team hierarchy sorted as quickly as possible. It is not yet known whether a manager will be brought it to work alongside Tutte, or whether he will be operating alone.

And the situation could be further complicated by reports that first team coach Sam Hird is wanted by his former club Barrow.

The 34-year-old was appointed last July to bolster the coaching options at senior level and he was also given responsibility to manage the reserve team in the Central League.

The highly-rated Hird had played alongside Ian Evatt at Chesterfield and for him at Barrow, where he helped the Bluebirds into the Football League as National League champions.

Barrow are on the lookout for a new manager after confirming on Friday that talks about a new contract for Phil Brown have ended.

Former Wanderers captain and coach, Brown, had taken temporary charge of the club for the final nine games of the season and steered them away from the relegation zone in League Two, working alongside another ex-Bolton coach, Neil McDonald.