Coe set for Olympic job

London's Olympic bid chief Barbara Cassani was working hard today on finalising a deal for Sebastian Coe after a U-turn to give him a top job in the 2012 campaign.

Coe's name was omitted from the 2012 board announced last week as Cassani wanted to clarify how he could juggle the bid with his other commitments. The bid chairman still needed another meeting with Coe to nail down the details of his role when the board was announced last Friday.

However she is keen for double Olympic champion Coe to have a key role in the bid and there are moves to make the former Conservative MP a vice-chairman.

As well as being a coach, an ambassador for the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and a media personality, Coe was last month elected on to the council of the IAAF, the world governing body of athletics.

There is also still a huge question mark over how he could continue to work for a national newspaper while attending confidential board meetings, given that the other members would not have such ties.

The composition of the board has won praise, especially the appointments of high jumper and social worker Dalton Grant and of Lord Paul of Marylebone, the millionaire Labour peer who is a hugely influential figure in the Asian community.

More importantly, Standard Sport has learned that Cassani is making real progress in her hunt for IOC experts, without whom London has no chance of attracting enough votes to win.