DUNDEE last night replaced manager Simon Stainrod by his assistant,

Jim Duffy.

Stainrod is promoted to director of football operations with the Dens

Park club. He will be responsible for buying and selling all playing

assets, as well as the administration, recruitment and responsibility

for the youth policy.

Duffy, a former manager of Falkirk, has been Stainrod's assistant

since the Englishman took over from sacked Iain Munro in February, 1992.

By way of explanation last night, Dundee chairman Ron Dixon said:

''The changes have been made to strengthen further our organisation.''

However, the timing of the news, with the appointment of former Dens

Parker John McCormack as an assistant to Duffy, came as a shock.

Only last week, Stainrod was in Europe to bolster Dundee's top team

squad. He returned having signed Polish internationalists Dariusz

Adamczuk and Piotr Czaczowski from Eintracht Frankfurt and Legia Warsaw

respectively.

There was also a managerial surprise in England last night, Peter Reid

joining out-of-work Terry Venables and Steve Coppell after having been

sacked by Manchester City. But while the 37-year-old former England

player was becoming used to being unemployed, the two others emerged as

top tips to replace him.

Reid said: ''I have never been out of work since I was 15. I half

expected this with our disappointing start to the season.But I wish City

all the best and hope they will get a result against Coventry.''

City stalwart Tony Book will be in charge for that match, the fifth

time he has taken control. He was manager from 1974-79 and has been a

caretaker manager on three other occasions.

The writing was on the wall for Reid following Tuesday's

2-0 home defeat by Blackburn Rovers, after which the team was booed

off the field, although most of the protests were aimed at chairman

Swales.

But it was John Maddock, City's new general manager, who put Reid's

position on the line. ''The City fans deserve more than what they paid

to see against Blackburn,'' he said.

''You don't have to be a genius to work out something is going wrong

when the team is being booed off at the end of August.''