Ipswich Town are now facing a crucial decision that is going to have major ramifications on the long-term trajectory of the club with them aiming to find the right successor to Paul Cook.

The Tractor Boys have disappointed so far this season and they have not been able to live up the expectations that were placed on them at the start of the campaign. That came after a huge outlay in the summer on players that on paper seem to be amongst the best in League One.

Cook did seem like he could be the right manager to lead Ipswich’s talented new squad to promotion after he had guided Wigan Athletic to promotion from the third tier in his spell in charge of the Latics. However, he was unable to get the squad to gel quickly enough at the start of the season and the Tractor Boys have not been consistent enough since for him to keep his job.

It is important that Ipswich take their time and weigh up all of their potential options in the managerial department before making an appointment. So, it will be interesting to see how quickly things are able to progress within their managerial search over the coming days.

With that in mind, we take a look at the latest developments with Ipswich’s hunt for a successor to Cook…

The first major decision that Ipswich have made since parting ways with Cook has been to appoint former defender and Colchester United manager John McGreal as their caretaker ahead of their meeting with Charlton Athletic on Tuesday. That appointment comes just days after the club hired McGreal in an academy role at Portman Road.

Ipswich CEO Mark Ashton has not ruled out the prospect of McGreal landing the job on a more permanent basis, but he also insisted that is not the plan that the Tractor Boys are working towards at the moment with that being to make an external appointment once they have assessed all of the potential candidates.

Ashton was also quick to insist that the timing of McGreal’s arrival in his academy position and the exit of Cook was just a coincidence and there was not a desire to bring him in ahead of a decision on Cook’s future.

The Ipswich CEO has also insisted that the Tractor Boys want to make an appointment as soon as they possibly can with the belief that their season is very much still alive and the play-offs remain a possibility. He also added though that the process of the new appointment will not be something that the club rush.

That comes with Ashton also revealing that Ipswich have had a number of managerial candidates interested in the role who have contacted them about the possibility of landing the job. He admitted that interest had been coming both from out of work and in work managers.