^ CLICK IMAGE ABOVE TO SEE THE 4 BIGGEST EFL STORIES OF THE DAY ^

Football fans will be catching their breath before the full EFL schedule on Boxing Day kicks off what will be a busy period for all clubs through to the New Year.

Here though, we pause briefly to look at the four biggest EFL stories of the day........

Bristol Rovers have appointed Ben Garner as their new manager, it has been confirmed on the club website, with the 39-year-old former West Brom and Crystal Palace first-team coach signing a two-and-half-year contract at Rovers, who are fourth in League One.

Garner succeeds Graham Coughlan, who resigned to take over at League Two Mansfield Town last week and is his first role as a manager.

Garner's first game in charge will be Rovers' Boxing Day game at home to AFC Wimbledon.

Phillip Cocu has set about strengthening his squad in the January transfer window, with the Rams launching a bid to sign Leicester defender Filip Benkovic, according to a report in The Telegraph.

Cocu hopes to agree a deal with the Foxes to sign Benkovic on loan for the remainder of the season, after the Croatian international failed to make a first-team appearance under Brendan Rodgers so far this season.

Leeds United will be without winger Pablo Hernandez for around a month because of a hamstring injury, it is being reported in the YEP, the injury coming following the 34-year-old's withdrawal three minutes into the 2-1 defeat by Fulham on Saturday.

Former Valencia and Swansea playmaker Hernandez has scored three goals and created four in 17 games this season, having already missed six games earlier in the campaign with a calf problem.

Middlesbrough's head of recruitment operations Adrian Bevington is to part company with the club at the end of the month, it has been confirmed on the club website.

Bevington, the former head of FA communications Club England managing director in charge of the national team, joined Boro in May 2018 having been brought in to oversee a change in structure of the recruitment department and integrate it more closely to the Academy.