This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Nottingham Forest have finally decided to part ways with Chris Hughton following the Reds’ 2-0 defeat at home to Middlesbrough on Wednesday.

The Reds have endured a dismal start to the campaign with them picking up just one point from a possible 21 available to them. That highlights that major change is needed if they are going to be able to turn things around.

According to reports from The Athletic, Forest have identified former Swansea City manager Steve Cooper as a potential replacement for Hughton.

That could be one person that the Reds look to bring into the club, but there will also be other candidates that could emerge for the job before Hughton’s successor is named.

So, with that in mind we asked our FLW writers who they feel is the right manager to take over from Hughton…

George Harbey

I quite like the sound of the Steve Cooper appointment, the more I think of it.

In his two years in management at club level, he guided Swansea to back-to-back play-off finishes, taking them to the semi-finals in 2019/20 and then the final last season.

He also made a name for himself in the England coaching setup, guiding the Under-17s to World Cup success in 2017.

Forest have a plethora of young players at the club, and it would be exciting to see what he can do with the likes of Brennan Johnson and Alex Mighten.

I think it will be him who gets the job.

Adam Jones 

For me, it wouldn't be a surprise if they looked to Europe. But first and foremost, they need someone whose ambitions align with whether the club wants to go.

Chris Hughton and the Nottingham Forest hierarchy seemed to be on a completely different page during the summer in terms of their respective directions, so getting someone in who actually fits the mould will be vital.

At this stage, John Terry would be too much of a risk considering the magnitude of the task Hughton's successor faces in getting them out of the relegation zone and to safety, which will probably be the main aim now after such a poor start.

Steve Cooper may only have two seasons of Championship experience himself, but he could be a good option after performing well above expectations with previous side Swansea City.

Chris Wilder may also freshen things up with a completely different system, although their current senior strikeforce consists of Lyle Taylor and Lewis Grabban, with little depth to back them up. So would it be a good match? I'm not so sure, if Wilder wants to adopt a similar system to the one he did at Sheffield United.

You could also make the same case for Steve Cooper with Lowe and Ayew up front, so both will need to be adaptable and considering Wilder's run at the back end of his time at the Blades, Cooper is probably the best option at this stage.

Chris Thorpe

It has to be Steve Cooper for me and I’m finding it hard to look past him as the standout candidate.

He worked wonders at Swansea on a shoestring budget and could really help to galvanise this Forest squad.

His work with young players is obviously a big plus too and that is clearly something that Forest are very fond of.

He’s also out of work, so there would be no need to negotiate a compensation agreement to get him in.

It seems like the perfect fit, so now they need to get it done.