No clear successor in place as Rovers look for new boss

BRISTOL Rovers do not have a successor lined up to replace Ben Garner, the Bristol Post understands, with the club set to welcome applications in the coming days. Garner was sacked shortly after the 4-1 defeat to Fleetwood Town on Saturday with Rovers 18th in League One with just three wins from 11 games.

Focus quickly turned on Saturday evening to who Rovers will select to succeed him.

The early bookmakers’ favourite for the job is head of recruitment Tommy Widdrington, who is set to be in caretaker charge for Wednesday’s EFL Trophy tie with Chelsea U21s and is priced as an odds-on chance.

But the club do not intend to consider him as a candidate, nor does the 49-year-old crave the job full time.

Instead, Rovers plan to conduct an application process over the next couple of weeks before narrowing down contenders and holding interviews.

Widdrington, CEO Martyn Starnes and of course owner Wael Al-Qadi will oversee that process. Starnes is expected to discuss the situation with the press this week.

Some fans suspected an immediate successor was waiting in the wings given the swift swing of the axe that ended Garner’s reign within 90 minutes of full time on Saturday.

That is not the case and the club is open-minded on options to replace Garner.

His coaching staff of Jack Mesure, Kevin Maher and David Coles remain employed by the club and they are expected to stay unless they wish to depart.

The club is believed to be eager to ensure its new manager coalesces with the existing framework and strategy to make the club more sustainable by developing talent from within.

There will also be an expectation to deliver an attacking, entertaining style of football that Garner promised but ultimately failed to deliver.

Garner’s game management is understood to have been a particular concern for decisionmakers at Rovers, with like-for-like substitutions and naive passages of play in recent weeks testing their patience before the Fleetwood debacle proved to be the final straw.

There was no revolt from within the dressing room, but the board had seen enough and believe a different voice is required to get the best out of this overhauled squad.

But Rovers will not panic and rip up the template to start from scratch. They have faith in their strategy and the players recruited.

And, while remaining openminded on possible successors, a more proven manager is the preference.