Newcastle United’s tortuous search for a manager was in a familiar state of limbo last night after Terry Venables turned down the opportunity to succeed Kevin Keegan. After a substantive round of talks with the club’s hierarchy in London yesterday, the former England head coach rejected terms that would have had him installed on an interim basis.

With Newcastle up for sale, Venables had been told that his position would not go beyond the end of Mike Ashley’s involvement at the club, effectively restricting him to a match-to-match deal. While the 65-year-old was confident that he could motivate the team, the limited timescale and chaotic circumstances did not appeal.

“Newcastle United means too much to too many people to take the job on a short-term basis,” Venables said. “It demands total commitment and dedication from a manager prepared to throw himself heart and soul into the club. I was ready and willing to give it a real go. But all they could guarantee was I’d be in a job until Mike Ashley sells — whenever that might be.”

Whether Newcastle’s increasing desperation will lead them to rethink their proposal is uncertain — the public nature of Venables’s refusal has the ring of finality — although given the extraordinary nature of recent events at the club, nothing can be ruled out. That, of course, includes another return for Keegan.

Venables met Dennis Wise, the executive director (football), Derek Llambias, the managing director, and Tony Jimenez, the vice-president, before informing them of his decision by phone. Newcastle had been confident of an appointment before tomorrow’s match at home to Blackburn Rovers, but Chris Hughton, the caretaker manager, is set to address the media today.

From a similarly low league position, Venables steered Middlesbrough from relegation in the 2000-01 season, but his authority had been bolstered by a deal until the end of that campaign. This allowed him to improve confidence and change tactics, neither of which would have been easy with Newcastle’s short-term offer.

Ashley had offered Venables a director of football role at Newcastle before Wise’s arrival in January, but the club’s embattled owner was not directly involved in yesterday’s talks. That, the confused nature of Newcastle’s initial approach for the manager’s post and the temporary status proffered did not fill Venables with confidence that the proposition was workable.

Having initially drawn up a managerial shortlist featuring acolytes of Wise, such as Gustavo Poyet, Paul Ince and Didier Deschamps, Ashley subsequently failed in an attempt to tempt Keegan back to Tyneside. An experienced candidate is being sought, but Glenn Hoddle and Avram Grant, the former Chelsea manager, are also said to have dismissed Newcastle’s advances.

Bookmakers reinstalled Keegan as favourite for the job last night — a Nigerian consortium interested in buying the club has intimated that it would seek to reappoint him — but the situation on Tyneside has become farcical. George Graham, David O’Leary, Gérard Houllier, Dave Bassett and Alan Curbishley have been touted as possible acting managers, but credibility is an issue and none is guaranteed to energise players or fans. Newcastle have lost four matches in succession and are second-bottom of the Barclays Premier League.

Protests against Ashley’s regime will resume for the Blackburn fixture, with fans continuing their boycott of official club merchandise and catering outlets. The newly formed Newcastle United Supporters Club will distribute 20,000 leaflets outside the stadium before kick-off, detailing their aims and ambitions, but Ashley’s departure remains their immediate objective. Venables was keen to point out that his rejection was not influenced by concern over protests from supporters. “My decision had nothing to do with a fear of a fans’ backlash,” he said.

Morale in the dressing-room is low and Steven Taylor, the centre half, made an emotional apology for his role in Newcastle’s 2-1 Carling Cup defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night. “I hold my hands up for the second goal,” Taylor said. “It proved so costly and I want to apologise to everybody. I owe the fans and I owe my team-mates, too.”

Newcastle received a further blow yesterday when they learnt that Obafemi Martins, the forward, faces a layoff of up to six weeks, after his knee suffered an adverse reaction to his return to action against Tottenham.