Bristol Rovers have begun the new hunt for a new manager this week following the departure of Graham Coughlan on Monday, as he has now taken over at League Two club Mansfield Town.

Rovers have been linked with a few high-profile names over the past couple of days, but one surprise name that has cropped up has been Paul Heckingbottom, reports BristolLive.

The former Leeds United boss has been out of work since leaving Scottish club Hibernian last month, after a dismal start to the season north of the border.

Here, we take a look at two pros and two cons of Heckingbottom's interest in the Bristol Rovers vacancy...

Has relative League One experience - Pro

The former Barnsley boss has prior experience in League One, having managed Barnsley in the third tier for six months following the departure of Lee Johnson for Bristol City in 2016.

Heckingbottom guided Barnsley to promotion from the league in 2016 and was awarded the permanent role as manager at Oakwell, and he went on to enjoy relative success while with the Reds in the Championship.

Knows how to get the best out of a squad - Pro

While his time at Leeds and Hibernian may not have been the most successful, Heckingbottom was able to get the best out of his squad at Barnsley, as well as adding to it along the way.

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The Yorkshire-man has a fairly even win-loss ratio throughout his management career, having won 54 games and lost 58 out of 156 games, as his managerial performances at Barnsley may be enough to tempt Rovers into making a move for him.

Not the most experienced - Con

Bristol Rovers are thought to be searching for a manager who has experience within League One, and has the knowledge to get promotion from the league as Rovers dream of making it into the second tier.

While Heckingbottom ticks both of those boxes, he still isn't the most experienced in terms of management, having only been a manager for the past four years.

Hasn't managed in the south - Con

Heckingbottom has spent the majority of his career up in the north of England, mainly in Yorkshire and the north east while playing for Gateshead.

The furthest that the 42-year-old has come down south to play or coach is when he had a season spell playing with Norwich City during the 2002-2003 season, and he may struggle to persuade certain players to make the move down to the south of England in order to pull on the Bristol Rovers shirt.