Scunthorpe United are looking for a permanent successor to Mark Robins, who was recently sacked shortly after a heavy defeat away to Blackpool. There are currently a handful of names said to be in serious contention, and we’re going to take a look at those names now.
It is fair to say like when every job becomes available in the Football League, there are some similar names that are linked, as well as a couple of fresh names too. The current favourite is certainly someone who you wouldn’t instantly think of.
James Beattie
Ladies and gentleman, I give you the current odds-on favourite to become the next manager of Scunthorpe United. It would appear it is quite likely that we will be handed the reins at Glanford Park, especially if the flurry of betting activity in the past week or so has anything to go by. Throughout his playing career he associated himself with the higher echelons of the game. He appeared for clubs such as Southampton over 200 times and also represented England on five occasions. David Moyes forked out £6million to bring him to Everton as well. He spent sixteen months in League Two as manager of Accrington Stanley and most recently was part of Garry Mon’s coaching staff at Swansea City. Now looking for a way back into the game, perhaps Scunthorpe would be a good fit for him.
Nick Daws
Daws is currently in caretaker charge alongside Andy Dawson. It would appear that chairman Peter Swann is wanting to go down a different route, nevertheless, if the pair continue to produce decent results then they have to be considered. Daws isn’t necessarily a glamorous name, but do they necessarily need a glamorous name? Of course not. He certainly has all of the coaching credentials needed to be a hit on the training pitch. He has been on the staff at clubs such as Rotherham United, Barnsley and Queens Park Rangers. He has been at Scunthorpe since October 2014 after Mark Robins made him first-team coach. He is a steady pair of hands and the Iron could do a lot worse than him. You just feel an outside man will be appointed however.
Neil Warnock
Perhaps people are putting two and two together when linking Neil Warnock to this vacancy. He used to play for Scunny back in the 1970s and it seems as though he wants to get back into management. Does he really fancy plugging away in League One though? It remains to be seen. He’ll have some form of connection with the club that could potentially lure him back some 40 years after he left. It would certainly be a bold appointment and quite a high-profile one from Swann as well. This all depends on if Warnock wants the job. If he does, you could argue it is his if he wants it. However there has to be some doubt about that.
Mark Cooper
Please someone give Mark Cooper a job! The poor guy is linked with every job going at this moment in time. He did good things with Swindon and if it wasn’t for an impressive Preston side, then he could be managing in the Championship at this moment in time. He has been mentioned for plenty of jobs since leaving Swindon in 2015. Walsall, Notts County and York City are three that come to mind straight away. He is well used to this level of football League, which can’t necessarily be said about all of the other names we are mentioning. Cooper will be a good appointment for someone some day, but will it be with Scunthorpe? Maybe so.
Steve Cotterill
This seems quite unlikely but his name has been chucked into the mix regardless. Cotterill was fired by Bristol City recently, with the Robins struggling in the Championship. This comes only a few months after his side comfortably won the division that Scunthorpe currently ply their trade in. It would be unlikely that Cotterill could have as much of an immediate reaction at someone like Scunthorpe than he did at Bristol City, but you never know. Would he want this job and move from his South West location? I suppose he would be prepared, but only if the job is right. He may want to wait until the summer before getting back into the game however.
