Sheffield Wednesday have reportedly held talks with former Wigan Athletic manager Paul Cook over the prospect of taking over from Tony Pulis, and the 53-year-old has hinted he could be willing to take the job.
The Owls have been without a manager since sacking Pulis at the end of December after just ten matches in charge of the club. However, they have since managed to record successive Championship wins under the caretaker charge of Neil Thompson to lift themselves out of the relegation zone.
Cook has been out of work since leaving Wigan at the end of last season, and he earned plenty of plaudits for the work he did with the Latics last term despite their relegation to League One. The 53-year-old has been linked with role at Derby County, but it is now being reported that he has held talks with the Owls, per talkSPORT.
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The former Portsmouth manager was a guest on Sky Sports on Friday night, via Yorkshire Live. He was inevitably questioned over the prospect of taking over at Sheffield Wednesday. Cook hinted that he would be open to taking charge of a club the size of the Owls and believes it is a good opportunity for whoever gets the job.
He said: "It is very, very flattering to be linked. I am an out of work manager and I am desperate to get back into football.
"You miss the day to day of the dressing room, good or bad. The interaction with the players.
"Sheffield Wednesday is an absolutely massive football club. It would be a fantastic club for anyone to manage so while I'm being linked with it, it is obviously very flattering."
The Verdict
Cook would be an excellent appointment for the Owls and his hands-on experience of Championship relegation battles that he has from the last two seasons at Wigan could be invaluable for Sheffield Wednesday. The Latics would have survived last term were it not for a points deduction and they were even one of the form teams in the league in the second-half of the campaign.
The 53-year-old has the ability to get the best out of his players even in challenging circumstances as he showed last season at Wigan. That suggests he is the right person to take over and give confidence to the Owls squad who have been struggling this season before their recent successive wins.
The former Wigan boss also likes his players to play more on the front than Pulis does. That would help to implement a more attractive style of play and mean Sheffield Wednesday were set up to win matches on a more regular basis. The fact that he might be up for the job is a major boost and the Owls should go all out to ensure he is their next permanent manager.