Bohemians are set to name Longford's Stephen Kenny as the club's new manager over the weekend.

Kenny is believed to have turned down initial offers of the job. But by last night he had informed Longford chairman Adrian Duncan and other senior officials at the club that the offer was simply too good to refuse.

It's a serious blow to the club he joined a little over three years ago, and Longford have not ruled out the possibility of taking legal action over the move.

During his time in charge, Kenny led Longford, then in a poor way financially, out the first division. He also guided them to the final of the FAI Cup and into European competition for the first time in the club's history.

His dedication to the job and ability to build a successful team within remarkably tight budgetary constraints earned him widespread admiration within the league.

The club has also made enormous progress off the pitch, with Kenny working well with a supportive group of directors, led by chairman Adrian Duncan.

After hearing the news last night, Duncan admitted he was taken aback. "Stephen told me and says that he feels guilty and all of that, but he's gone - that's the bottom line.

"We'll be looking for a replacement as soon as possible and I already have a couple of names in mind. But I believe we have assurances that all of the players will stay with us until the end of the season at least."

Derek O'Neill will take over for this evening's home league game, ironically against Bohemians. Kenny is likely to delay taking charge of the Dubliners until next week's cup match between both teams at the same venue.

Earlier yesterday, John Aldridge ruled himself out of the running for the Bohemians job, with the former Republic of Ireland international explaining that he has "too many other commitments at the moment" to consider taking on the position.

Bohemians had been widely reported to have had several rounds of talks with the former Tranmere Rovers boss but Aldridge described these as "preliminary talks about a few things". He had never, he said, actually met with anybody from the club.

Before Kenny's appointment, Bohemians chairman Felim O'Reilly confirmed that he had talks "on several occasions" with Aldridge but added that "we have been talking to other people too.

"In several cases the talks there are still in progress," he said. "I can't name names because a number of the people concerned are under contract to other clubs, but I would make it clear that we have acted ethically at all times and have sought permission from employers before making any approach."

Waterford United chairman Ger O'Brien, meanwhile, says that his club will advertise for a replacement for Paul Power "if only to see what's out there".

Power resigned on Thursday after being informed of a new round of financial cutbacks at the club.

Brendan Rea and Paul Scully took charge of the team for last night's game with Dublin City and O'Brien said that if the pair did well, "we certainly wouldn't feel under any pressure to make an appointment."