Bristol City parted company with head coach Dean Holden on Tuesday following their 2-0 defeat to Reading at Ashton Gate in the Sky Bet Championship.
After replacing Lee Johnson in the summer, Holden got off to a promising start at The Robins, but they’ve lost their last six games and have failed to score since February 3.
The search now begins for City’s 40th permanent manager in their history, but who is likely to next find themselves in the hot seat at Ashton Gate?
Paul Cook
Paul Cook was heavily linked with the Bristol City vacancy after the sacking of Lee Johnson in July.
Cook’s last job was at Wigan Athletic, but he resigned in the same month as Johnson was sacked, as a 12-point deduction saw The Latics relegated to League One.
If it wasn’t for that points deduction, Wigan would have been comfortably mid-table and the 53-year-old did have plenty more success at the DW Stadium, leading Wigan to the League One title in 2017 and shocking Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the FA Cup during the same year.
With promotions also under his belt with Chesterfield and Portsmouth, Cook looks like an attractive option for the City hierarchy.
Nigel Pearson
Nigel Person has been out of work since being controversially sacked by Premier League relegation-threatened Watford last season with two games to spare.
Pearson has publicly said that he feels he was harshly dealt with at Watford, who he put in a great position to help them avoid relegation with a series of wins, including one against Champions-to-be Liverpool in late February.
Another experienced option, the Nottingham-born manager spent six years at Leicester, and led them a comfortable 14th-placed finish in the Premier League in 2015, despite being bottom at Christmas.
Russell Martin
Russell Martin is a relative newbie to football management but he has won a lot of plaudits for his philosophy at MK Dons.
The former Norwich captain likes his team to be brave with the ball and work the opposition with their passing. MK have won three of their last four games, giving themselves an outside chance of the League One play-offs this season.
At just 35-years-old, Martin lacks experience but is currently one of the most exciting managers in the EFL. It could be seen as a risk to appoint someone still in their managerial infancy, but he is showing all the signs of becoming a top head coach.
Michael Appleton
Lincoln City manager Michael Appleton is the current favourite for the City vacancy. His side are currently at the summit of League One, with promotion to the Championship a real possibility.
Appleton has managed in England’s second-tier three times before, but failed to pull up any trees. He was relegated with Portsmouth in 2012, became Blackpool’s shortest-serving manager with just eleven games under his belt in 2013, and then only lasted 67 days at Blackburn Rovers.
He recently took a break from first-team management, becoming assistant to Craig Shakespeare at Leicester before being appointed Under-23s coach at West Bromwich Albion.
Appleton is currently enjoying himself with a youthful squad at Sincil Bank, and City would do well to tempt him away from a potential League One promotion campaign.
