The former Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan has admitted he would be interested in taking charge of the Ospreys whose search for a replacement for Lyn Jones, who was sacked as the EDF Energy Cup holders' head coach last May, has taken longer than expected.

O'Sullivan parted company with Ireland after a disappointing Six Nations championship followed an early World Cup exit having been in charge of the side for seven years. "I have had three months off and I am itching to get back on the horse," he said today. "The Ospreys are certainly one of the high-profile teams around which has a vacancy and they will be competitive in the Heineken Cup.

"That is the marketplace you want to be in as a coach: it is where you want to ply your stock in trade and it is a very attractive position down there and certainly a very interesting position. I know Wales well having been to the country a thousand times as Ireland coach: I have watched a number of Celtic league matches and know the regions and a lot of the players. The country has a fantastic rugby culture and I love that about the place. It is a part of the world I very much like."

Whoever takes over the Ospreys will have to make do without the former New Zealand scrum-half Justin Marshall. He has now terminated his contract with the region by mutual consent to sign a one-year contract with Montpellier and he has the option of another 12 months.

The Ospreys agreed to release the 34-year old, who spent a season at Leeds before moving to Wales in 2006, even though they will be without their Wales scrum-half, Mike Phillips, for the first three months of the season as he recovers from a knee operation.