Ipswich Town have made the decision to part ways with Paul Cook following what has been a disappointing start to the campaign for the Tractor Boys after their summer outlay.

Cook was heavily backed by Ipswich’s new owners over the summer and he was able to bring in a host of players that on paper at least should be considered amongst the best in League One. It was always likely to take time though to gel the new squad together and that certainly proved to be the case in the first few months of the season.

The Tractor Boys remained patient with Cook despite the fact that Ipswich managed to claim just one win in their opening eight League One matches. However, it did seem that things were starting to turn around when they managed to start to climb the table culminating in an impressive 4-1 win at Wycombe Wanderers at the start of November.

However, since then the Tractor Boys have managed to pick up just one win in their last four League One matches and they were held to a goalless draw by League Two Barrow in the FA Cup on Saturday at Portman Road. Following that disappointing result, Ipswich have made the decision to make a change in the managerial department.

So, with Ipswich now on the lookout for a new manager, we take a look at THREE potential candidates that should be in consideration for the role…

Chris Hughton

If Ipswich want to go down the experienced managerial route to replace Cook with someone tried and tested and used to delivering then Chris Hughton could be the right man for them.

Hughton is out of work after leaving Nottingham Forest earlier in the campaign after a challenging start to the campaign in the Championship. Things did not work out for him at the City Ground, but there is no doubt that despite that the former Brighton, Newcastle United and Norwich City manager has an impressive CV.

The bulk of Hughton’s success has come in the Championship, with him having guided Brighton and Newcastle to promotion from the English second tier as well as taking Birmingham City to the play-offs in his only campaign in charge at St Andrews.

That record suggests that Hughton would be more than capable of dropping down to League One and getting Ipswich into a position where they can finally be serious contenders for promotion back to the Championship.

There is the obvious issue of his prior association with Norwich, but that did not deter the Tractor Boys from appointing Paul Lambert a few years ago. As a result, it should not be something that rules out a manager with his record and past achievements from the job at Portman Road.

Ipswich’s owners will have long-term ambitions to get into the Championship and then challenge in that league for promotion, so Hughton could be a good fit for that objective given his prior experience of going all the way in the promotion race in the English second tier.

 

 

Liam Manning

Someone who is at the other end of the scale to Hughton in terms of managerial experience is MK Dons boss Liam Manning. However, the 36-year-old has done more than enough at the Stadium MK since taking over from Russell Martin to suggest that he should be at least under consideration for a job like this one.

Manning has brought a very attractive style of play to MK Dons and he is marrying that well with results so far this season with his side sat in sixth place in the League One table after winning four of their past five league matches. There is no doubt that the 36-year-old has all the makings of a coach with a bright future in the game and someone that could progress well beyond League One.

If Ipswich want someone that can come in and implement a clear playing style and philosophy that the Tractor Boys can rely on for the next few years then Manning might be an ideal fit. He will not be daunted by taking on the sizeable challenge of guiding the Tractor Boys back into the Championship and he would have lots of belief in his own ability.

Considering that Manning is a former Ipswich academy player there is already a connection there and it might be difficult for him to turn down the chance to return to the Tractor Boys as their head coach if they come calling for him.

Ryan Lowe

At the moment, Ryan Lowe’s stock is so high that it would be impossible for him not to at least be a contender for this role at Ipswich. In fact, it has been reported that the Plymouth Argyle boss was a name that was considered before the Tractor Boys appointed Cook last season.

Since then, Lowe has taken his Plymouth side to the next level this season and they are performing very well in League One this term and competing against clubs with much larger budgets for one of the two automatic promotion spots.

Lowe’s side inflicted a defeat on Ipswich recently in a game that demonstrated the good football that he has been able to implement at Home Park during his time in charge. He seems to be a manager that can maximise his resources and it would be exciting to see what he could do with a larger budget and on paper at least even better players.

Considering that Lowe has really had nothing but success so far in his managerial career at both Bury and now Plymouth, Ipswich could do a lot worse than handing him the chance to continue his development with them.