BERNARD Jackman’s successor as Dragons head coach is expected to be in place early next week.

Interim chief Ceri Jones revealed today that chairman David Buttress is planning to have a new man at the helm by Monday.

However, Jones added that he doesn’t know the identity of Jackman’s replacement, with Mike Ruddock, Jim Mallinder and Andy Robinson reportedly among the contenders.

Former Ireland hooker Jackman was relieved of his duties on Monday after just 18 months in the Rodney Parade hotseat.

His departure came on the back of defeats by Leinster and Northampton which saw the Dragons concede a total of 107 points.

Jones has the unenviable task of leading the Guinness PRO14 strugglers into a daunting European Challenge Cup clash with Clermont Auvergne tomorrow (kick-off 1pm GMT).

Speaking about the head coach situation, Jones said: “We’ve been told that there will be somebody coming in, but we don’t know who that is at this stage.

“David Buttress came in on Tuesday and told us that we’d know some news by Monday.

“I had a conversation with David on Monday evening and he told me Bernard had been sacked with immediate effect.

“He asked if I could step up and be head coach for this week with a timeframe around somebody being in place going into Monday of next week.”

He added: “I’m obviously disappointed for Bernard because I think he has done a lot of good groundwork for this region, but we’ve just got to focus on the week ahead.

“Bernard, when he took over, gave me the job of forwards coach, so we had a good working relationship.

“I thought all the work he did at grassroots was excellent, so I’ve got nothing but respect for Bernard and what he has done for the region.

“One of the early things he did was contracting a lot of the young local talent like Elliot Dee and Leon Brown.

“His initiative around them going back to their junior clubs and giving them something back for what they gave to the region was a really good thing, and I think a lot of people will appreciate that.”

With Jackman having taken on the duties of sacked defence coach Handre Marnitz last month, Jones has drafted in Dragons academy boss James Chapron to help in that department.

As for whether he has designs on the top job in the future, Jones said: “We’ve got a new head coaching coming in, hopefully from Monday as far as I’m aware, so my sole focus is to look after us this week and going forward to do the best job I possibly can as a forwards coach.

“I’m focusing on my own job which is trying to make our forward pack as good as possible and produce more Welsh internationals.

“We’ve managed to produce a few over the years and I think we’d all say those forwards are good forwards, so I intend to carry on doing that.”