Garitano To Be Confirmed As New Zaragoza Boss Ander Garitano has been confirmed as the new manager of Real Zaragoza, although no details of the lengt

Garitano was expected to resume temporary charge of the first-team for their Copa del Rey tie with Racing Santander on Wednesday alongside Santi Aragón, but it appears that he will get the job on a more long-term basis.

Zaragoza have called a press conference for this evening to announce the appointment, where Garitano will be joined by club president Eduardo Bandrés and director of sport Miguel Pardeza.

It is assumed that Garitano will be contracted until the end of the current season, but full details are expected to be announced during his presentation as manager later today.

Garitano, 38, is a former Zaragoza player and steps up from his current position of youth-team coach at La Romareda.

He replaces Victor Fernandez, who left via a mutual agreement after Zaragoza's 2-2 draw with Mallorca at the weekend, which saw the side drop to twelfth position in La Liga, just two points away from the relegation zone.

Zaragoza were hoping to at least qualify for the UEFA Cup via their league position this season and Garitano will have to hit the ground running if they are to make up the ten point gap that currently separates them from Racing Santander in sixth place.

Del Bosque And Clemente Favourites For Zaragoza Job Vicente del Bosque and Javier Clemente are believed to be among the favourites to take over at Re

The club have stated publicly that they have not approached anyone about the post yet, but the veteran duo are being considered and could be contacted this week.

Fernández was told he was sacked by president Eduardo Bandrés after the draw against Real Mallorca at the weekend and work has now begun to find his successor.

Del Bosque has not worked since leaving Beşiktaş in 2005, but has been linked to several Spanish clubs in the past two years and is said to be the preferred option among many of the Zaragoza directors.

After guiding Real Madrid to domestic and European success, he was sacked by Florentino Pérez as the club looked for a more fashionable coach.

That move saw Los Merengues embark on a three-year run under the previous regime without winning a trophy and many recognised the unfair treatment of Del Bosque.

Clemente is the more controversial choice as the Zaragoza coaching staff have already expressed their concerns over his authoritarian style.

The 57-year-old made his name as a coach when he guided Athletic Bilbao to successive league titles in the early 1980's before guiding Espanyol to the UEFA Cup Final.

After stints in charge of Atlético de Madrid, Espanyol, Real Betis, Real Sociedad, Marseille and Tenerife he took over as Serbia' national team coach but was sacked last month after failing to qualify for Euro 2008.

While no decision has been made by Zaragoza, the temporary appointment of Ander Garitano and Santi Aragón as head coaches could remain in place until the end of the current campaign.