Chairman Milan Mandaric said yesterday that he expected the Dons to give him the green light to approach the former England captain about taking over at the Walkers Stadium.

"I do not see any reason for them not to grant us permission to at least talk to him, and I would expect to hear from them that I will be able to do so very soon," he said.

"I have three or four names in mind and Paul Ince is definitely one of them, but I would not put anyone's name at the top of that list just yet.

"I will be interviewing several managers in the hope that it can be sorted by the end of the week and I hope that Paul Ince will be one of them."

The Dons made public the Foxes' request to speak to Ince last week when they released a statement on their website.

But the League Two winners are yet to either allow or refuse Ince the chance to speak to Leicester with chairman Pete Winkelman waiting to discuss the matter on Ince's return from holiday in Portugal.

Despite now playing in the same division as the Dons, Leicester's far superior playing budget could persuade Ince to jump ship. Especially with money for summer transfers at stadium:mk believed to be short at best.

Meanwhile, Blackburn Rovers' interest in Ince seems to have cooled, with former striker Alan Shearer now the favourite for the post after speculation last week that Ince was a possible target.

But Ince still doesn't have the required coaching qualifications to work in the Premier League, meaning Blackburn would have to apply for special dispensation for him to manage them, as Middlesbrough have done for Gareth Southgate.

If Ince did make the move up the M1 to Leicester he would be following in the footsteps of former Dons manager Martin Allen, who lasted just three months before being sacked by Mandaric.

Leicester have been without a manager since the dismissal of Ian Holloway following the club's relegation to League One, the fourth manager to leave the club during Mandaric's reign.