Cook the favourite to be next City boss
Bookies fancy former Wigan manager to succeed Dean Holden at Ashton Gate
PAUL Cook is a clear favourite with the bookmakers to become Bristol City’s next manager.
The former Portsmouth and Wigan Athletic boss was priced at 5/4 by SkyBet yesterday evening, with former Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe second favourite at 3-1.
Dean Holden was sacked as City’s head coach late on Tuesday night following a 2-0 home defeat by Reading, which left the Robins 13th in the Championship table after a fifth successive defeat.
Kirkby-born Cook guided Portsmouth to the League Two title in 2017 and it was only his desire to move back North which prompted him to leave Fratton Park and take the Wigan job.
Whether moving back South would now be a stumbling block remains to be seen, but Cook was interviewed for the City job when Lee Johnson was sacked last summer, so that suggests it is no longer a concern for the 53-year-old.
Cook won many admirers for his work on a tight budget at Wigan and the Latics were only relegated from the Championship in May last year because of a 12-point deduction imposed after the club went into administration.
Cook left Wigan at the end of that season and since been linked with a number of Championship jobs.
Howe’s odds shortened yesterday, which suggests he may hold an interest in the Ashton Gate job. Howe would surely be an appealing candidate for many City fans, given his tremendous success in establishing Bournemouth as a Premier League club, before they were relegated last season.
Lincoln manager Michael Appleton (4/1) is third in the betting for the City job, and he previously worked alongside Robins chief executive Mark Ashton at Oxford United. MK Dons head coach Russell Martin is rated an 8-1 shot by SkyBet, with the 35-year-old having done an impressive job reviving the League One club this season.
Former Huddersfield Town boss Danny Cowley (10/1) and ex-Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson (11/1) are also high in the betting, as is Frank Lampard (12/1) following his recent departure from the Chelsea.
Whether the former England midfielder would be willing to return to the Championship, where he did a good job at Derby County before leaving for Chelsea, is uncertain.