There are a couple of managerial vacancies within the Sky Bet EFL, and particularly within Sky Bet League One. One of which is Oxford United, who removed Pep Clotet from the role a few days ago. Who will replace him? We looked at the five favourites with Sky Bet.
The Oxford Mail hinted that the club could look towards the shortlist they built up prior to naming Clotet as boss at the Kassam Stadium. That includes the likes of Partick Thistle manager Alan Archibald, as well as former England international defender Matthew Upson. It remains to be seen if they will be called upon.
Starting from fifth to first, we’ll focus on the five favourites for the job (at the time of writing).
5th) Derek Fazackerley – 9/1
The football coach veteran is the current caretaker manager at the club and someone who has not hidden from expressing an interest in the role in the past. A big result tonight at Stamford Bridge against the Chelsea Under-23 side in the Checkatrade Trophy could give the board a significant push in appointing him to the role. Although Fazackerley has not been the ‘number one’ in managerial terms in the past, he has been in esteemed company in the dugout before. Most notably this was when assistant manager to Kevin Keegan in the England setup. Many other roles are also on his coaching CV, including Blackburn Rovers, where he is their record appearance holder, Manchester City, Leicester City, Huddersfield Town and Birmingham City. He is sure to be one in the hunt.
4th) Simon Grayson – 7/1
The Daily Mail reported recently that Grayson turned down the opportunity to become the manager at MK Dons, who are also in search of a new coach after Robbie Neilson moved on a few days ago. They believe this was because he is wanting to regain employment in the Sky Bet Championship, which is obviously not where Oxford United are. However, they hold aspirations of doing so, and the 48-year-old could be tempted by an attractive challenge such as this. It would be fair to say his time at Sunderland did not go to plan, but it has not really damaged his reputation in the game. He has won promotion out of Sky Bet League One on four occasions, including a second place finish with Leeds United in 2010. It seems unlikely he’ll be in the Kassam dugout any time soon however.
Flick to the next page to view the three current favourites for the role!
