New England Revolution have granted permission to Plymouth Argyle to speak with assistant coach Paul Mariner. New England's vice-president of player personnel Mike Burns has now confirmed that they have given permission for the Championship club to discuss a deal with Mariner for him to join boss Paul Sturrock's coaching team.

Burns told the Boston Globe: "Plymouth have asked permission to speak to Paul from our organisation, we've granted that. They have spoken to him, they have had conversations. But nothing is final."

He added: "Paul brought an excellent change to this club and to me personally, he changed me 100 percent as a player. The combination of Stevie (Nicol) and Paul has been phenomenal."