Swansea City are on the hunt for a new manager after announcing they had parted company with 45-year-old head coach Michael Duff on Monday evening.
The ex-Barnsley and Cheltenham Town manager was only appointed in June of this year, but with the Swans currently sitting 18th in the Championship and struggling for form recently, the decision was made to opt for a change of guard.
Assistant manager Alan Sheehan will take charge in an interim capacity until an appointment is made, with his first game scheduled for Saturday afternoon against relegation-threatened Rotherham United.
Here are five managers the Welsh club could potentially go for:
Nathan Jones
Ex-Luton Town manager Jones is the frontrunner for the job and he does have a pedigree in the Championship, having first guided the Hatters to safety then setting up their promotion winning campaign last season before departing for Southampton in November 2022.
The Welshman spent just three months in charge of the Saints and the decision was made to part company in a last-ditch attempt to salvage their Premier League status.
John Eustace
In October, shockwaves were felt through the league when Birmingham City opted to sack the 44-year-old in favour of England legend Wayne Rooney. After acquiring a staggering 18 points from just 11 games and fresh off the back of a 3-1 win over neighbours West Bromwich Albion, it was a decision which was met with dismay and it’s one that has failed to pay off thus far.
Eustace is a man who will be highly sought after and Swansea may need to act quickly should they decide to go down this route.
Tony Mowbray
On the same evening that Swansea parted with Duff, Mowbray was let go by Sunderland. The Black Cats sit ninth in the table and have recently been flirting with the play-offs. However, with a run of one win in five, it was felt that a change might be needed in order to push back up the table.
Mowbray has achieved two promotions in his career – with West Brom and Blackburn Rovers respectively – as well as building a reputation of stabilising clubs. On paper, the two look a match made in heaven.
Gary Rowett
Rowett was in charge of Millwall for four years up until October 2023 when he left by mutual consent with the club sitting in 15th position in the Championship. He had helped them to finish within the top half of the table for three consecutive seasons.
The ex-Everton defender has had managerial stints at Stoke City, Derby County, Birmingham City and Burton Albion so will know the second tier extremely well. Could he help the Swans swim again?
Nigel Pearson
Pearson was let go by Bristol City in October following a 2-0 defeat to Cardiff City after losing five of their past seven matches. At the time the Robins were in 15th position in the second tier.
The ex-Sheffield Wednesday defender is no stranger to the top two leagues having managed the likes of Watford, Leicester City, Hull City and Southampton. Could he help Swansea to climb up the table?
Writer’s view
It’s shocking how many good managers are out of work at the moment, five names were mentioned here but it could easily have been 15.
Nathan Jones is the favourite and the Welshman could be tempted by a move close to home. John Eustace should be back in management too, it’s puzzling that he isn’t. Both would offer an improvement and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see either one appointed.
