The early contenders to replace Markus Schopp as the next Barnsley manager

The jubilation of Valerien Ismael’s stunning spell in charge swiftly turned to despair under his replacement Markus Schopp, who Barnsley have now sacked just 16 games into his tenure.

The Austrian, appointed in June, took over a club that had remarkably reached the Championship play-offs under Ismael. However, Schopp failed to build on the momentum at Oakwell, and was subsequently been sent packing on Monday morning following a wretched run of seven straight defeats.

He leaves the club 23rd in the Championship, four points adrift of safety.

"I would like to thank all those who have accompanied me in this short but very intense time,” Schopp said in a club statement.

“It is a pity that our hard work was not reflected in the results. I wish the club all the best for the future and that they will achieve all their goals."

Barnsley are no strangers to changing managers around this time of year. Last October, Gerhard Struber departed for New York Red Bulls, then prior to that Daniel Stendal was sacked in October 2019.

So who will the struggling club turn to this time around?

In a statement Barnsley’s Chief Executive Officer, Khaled El-Ahmad, revealed:

“I would like supporters to know that the process for finding a suitable replacement is underway and we will announce a new appointment in due course.”

It’s Joseph Laumann who has been placed in caretaker charge of the first team, with the 38-year-old an 8/1 shot to become the permanent boss. He has the chance to end Barnsley’s rotten losing streak on Wednesday when they face rock-bottom Derby County, followed by Hull on Saturday.

As we’ve become accustomed to seeing since he left Sheffield United, once again Chris Wilder has emerged as an early favourite for a Championship vacancy, but once again this is unlikely to happen, unfortunately.

6/1-priced Mick McCarthy has long been linked with the Barnsley job so it’s no surprise to see the veteran boss in the mix once again this time around, especially considering he’s now available for hire having lost the Cardiff job just over a week ago.

The out-of-work duo of Alex Neil and Neil Lennon can be backed at 8/1 and 10/1 respectively, while ex-Toon boss Steve Bruce has shot into the frame at 12/1, alongside Jonathan Woodgate. Neil is sure to attract attention given both his availability and Championship experience, which includes leading Norwich into the Premier League.

There are a number of unemployed managers hovering around the 16/1 mark, including Derek McInnes, Neil Harris, and Michael Flynn, although the latter is now the odds-on favourite to take up the post at fellow Championship strugglers Cardiff.

Further afield you’ll find Eddie Howe at 20/1, and the likes of Emma Hayes, Sol Campbell, and John Terry out at 25/1.

Barnsley’s last five managerial appointments have all been European, and in truth they were all unexpected names that few could have predicted. So with that in mind don’t be surprised if a left-field candidate suddenly springs to the top of the betting!