MILAN, March 25 (Reuters) -

ASATI, an association of small investors in Italian phone

group Telecom Italia (TIM), said on Monday it is

filing a list of candidates for the board of directors, which is

up for renewal at next month's annual general meeting.

ASATI is seeking to appoint a director representing

8,000 small TIM shareholders collectively holding a combined

stake of about 1% in the company, said Franco Lombardi, the head

of the association.

He added the candidate list of eight nominees would not

include a candidate for the role of chief executive officer.

TIM investors are due to meet on April 23 to vote on the

renewal of the board, with current CEO Pietro Labriola on a hunt

for a second mandate as part of the slate of candidates put

forward by the outgoing board.

Labriola has come under pressure following a record

stock plunge

this month after he unveiled the financial outlook for the

business emerging from the sale of the former phone monopoly's

domestic access network to U.S. fund KKR.

However, in its statement, ASATI said it agrees with the

general outline of TIM's business plan to sell the network and

to reduce the company's debt pile.

TIM investor

Merlyn Partners

also unveiled plans to file a slate of candidates for the

board renewal last week.

Having previously challenged the network disposal,

Merlyn said TIM should seek to conclude the deal "as soon as

possible" while also selling its Brazilian-listed subsidiary and

the retail domestic business to focus on the value added

business segment.

Backed by the Italian government and worth up to 22

billion euros, the KKR deal has been opposed by TIM's top

investor Vivendi, which has questioned the

sustainability of the remaining business and challenged the deal

in court.

With its 24% stake, Vivendi could stand in the way of

Labriola's reappointment.