Newcastle are not on the verge of appointing a new head coach.
Speculation has been rife over the last 24 hours that an announcement is imminent with Remi Garde having been installed as an odds-on favourite by the bookmakers.
However, Press Association Sport understands that, while club officials have spoken to the Garde camp, they have also held exploratory discussions with the representatives of several other potential candidates, and that further talks are planned during the coming days.
Managing director Lee Charnley and chief scout Graham Carr have spent the last week drawing up a list of possible successors to Alan Pardew and then whittling it down to those they believe could do the job.
However, some of those under consideration are currently in employment, and that further complicates matters with the likes of St Etienne's Christophe Galtier, Derby's Steve McClaren and Ajax's Frank de Boer having publicly distanced themselves from the vacancy.
The Magpies could yet make a temporary appointment - interim manager John Carver has expressed a strong interest, but has also been touted as a possible stop-gap replacement - while they wait for their man.
But the recruitment process remains very much in its infancy and sources on Tyneside are adamant that no one has yet been offered the job.
The successful candidate will have to persuade Charnley and Carr, who have been handed the responsibility of identifying and securing Pardew's successor by club owner Mike Ashley, that they can both work under the club's "continental" structure and take the team forward.
Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Chelsea left Newcastle in 10th place in the Barclays Premier League table, Ashley's minimum requirement for the season.
Source: PA
