Name after name, blow after blow.
Hummm.... Michael Laudrup actually said that he wasn't interested in another mid-table club.
The article is quite carefully worded. The other candidates, were 'interested in talking' or 'amenable'. It doesn't go so far as to say they actually wanted the job.
My own impression is that there were a number of candidates prepared to listen to an offer, but wanting to wait a while to see if something better came along. We could easily have been strung along for weeks, and ended up with no-one.
McClaren seems to have been the one who actually said yes. He's the bird in hand.
It was reported the day after that came out he wasn't talking about us and would be open to discussions.