Scottish football icon Ally McCoist has suggested that both Chris Wilder and Eddie Howe should be serious contenders for the Nottingham Forest job following Chris Hughton's sacking.
Hughton departed the City Ground for the final time last night as Forest boss after losing his sixth Championship match in seven attempts this season - his only point coming against Derby County.
Rumours were rife last night that the 62-year-old was set to receive his marching orders and it duly happened earlier today after less than a year in charge of the Tricky Trees.
The search now begins for Hughton's successor and a whole host of names have already been linked, including John Terry and Alex Neil, who was spotted at the City Ground last night in the directors box.
According to The Athletic, a 'modern thinker' who is open to developing young talent is preferred by the Forest hierarchy - McCoist though has his own ideas on who the club should go for in an attempt to arrest their slide.
“What about Eddie Howe? Eddie’s not got a mention after the Celtic thing,” McCoist said on talkSPORT (September 16, 9am), via HITC.
“(Wilder) is another who will look to get back in.
"He would be, if not the obvious one, then a good fit, there’s no way of getting away from that. It would make sense.”
The Verdict
Whilst it's an optimistic thought by McCoist that both Wilder and Howe would definitely be interested in the Forest job, there are definite road blocks when it comes to both options.
Wilder will probably take a decent Championship job at this stage but his problems with the recruitment in his later stages at Sheffield United was clear to see and he wouldn't be in charge of things at Forest on that side.
With Howe he turned down a big club in Celtic during the summer to remain unemployed and you get the feeling he is waiting for a Premier League job to appear.
Forest may have to look elsewhere and it seems like they have done with Steve Cooper targeted - McCoist may have been setting his sights too high when thinking of potential Hughton replacements.