Next Bristol Rovers Manager Odds: Six replacements for Matt Taylor

EFL pundit Gab Sutton looks at six candidates in the next Bristol Rovers manager odds who could replace Matt Taylor after he was sacked from his post following a year in charge of the League One club.

Aitor Karanka

Of all the candidates mooted, Aitor Karanka has the highest pedigree, and can provide the greatest level of detail on work without the ball.

Nobody earns the respect and trust of Jose Mourinho, whose right-hand man he became at Real Madrid, without having an elite understanding of certain facets of the game.

Plus, Director of Football George Friend knows Karanka’s abilities first-hand, from the defender’s time working under him at Middlesbrough, where they won promotion with a record-breaking defensive return in 2015-16.

The Spaniard, though, has three major drawbacks: firstly, he wouldn’t come to the club without assurances of a large budget, at a time when the club are also planning to move to an 18K capacity stadium.

Secondly, his sides can be uninspiring in possession, and the Gas are aiming to maximize their attacking players.

Thirdly, his psychological profile seems to be ‘self above tribe’. That perspective might have helped him win the respect of other ‘self above tribe’ types at the Bernabeu, like Cristiano Ronaldo, but it might also hinder him at a modest lower league club built on values like spirit and togetherness.

Lee Cattermole

Lee Cattermole will take charge of the team in the interim period, along with the assistance of David Horseman, and there is always the possibility of the caretaker manager doing so well that they come into the conversation for the permanent job.

Cattermole’s coaching quality is, for now, unknown from the outside, but Horseman has excellent reviews from his time at Southampton, and may have benefited from a more stable environment than the one he had at Forest Green.

When Horseman first went into The New Lawn, 18 months ago, he demonstrated excellent communication skills, and outlined what he wanted from his team with a level of clarity that’s very rarely heard from a new manager – an aggressive, high-pressing team with a ‘sprint mentality’, that’s not afraid to attack straight after turning the ball over.

What transpired, therefore, was surprising because Forest Green looked nothing like the vision he had outlined - although around that time, the Nailsworth club had been guilty of recruiting the wrong people in senior leadership roles, like Henry Staelens and Allan Steele, and had low cultural standards as a club.

So, it may be that Horseman didn’t have the correct personnel to implement what he wanted, or perhaps he had so many players that it became harder to make an impact on any one of them, while injuries took their toll - he might be able to show more of what he’s capable of in different circumstances.

Kevin Nolan

After a successful Premier League playing career, Kevin Nolan's stints as a number one in the Football League yielded mixed results, with struggles at Leyton Orient followed by the decent achievement of getting Notts County into the League Two Play-Offs after inheriting a difficult situation the year before, but his tenure didn't end as he would have hoped.

In his time at Meadow Lane, Nolan often favoured two physical veteran strikers up top, in Jon Stead and Shola Ameobi. This had the advantage of causing problems for defenders in high pressure spells, but the disadvantage of difficulty sustaining them due to their lack of mobility, and the common scenario of one of them winning the initial duel but the other not being quick or nippy enough to make the most of it.

Nolan's methodology may have since changed, having worked as first team coach at West Ham, and as assistant to Paul Nevin with the England Under-20s team - and clearly there must be some coaching nous for him to sustain a career at that level for several years. Nolan would tick the box Gasheads are hoping for in terms of a big personality who can get people on board, but mixed results as an EFL manager in previous stints means there's still a question mark - especially matched against more proven candidates.

Steven Schumacher

Bristol Rovers might have to play the waiting game for Steven Schumacher, who has been mentioned for the Millwall job.

Having led Plymouth Argyle to the League One title in 2022-23, with a whopping 101 points, ‘Schuey’ may feel like he’s already proven himself at that level and wants another Championship opportunity.

However, Schumacher’s struggles at Stoke mean he is potentially attainable in the league below, as he looks to get his career back on an upward trajectory.

The 40-year-old built a nicely balanced team at Home Park, both as manager and, previously, as assistant to Ryan Lowe, that could play some good football, but also knew how to grind out results when required.

During his time at Argyle, Schumacher earned praise from the Green Army for shrewd decision-making, team selection, and in-game management, whilst maintaining a great morale in the dressing room.

Matt Gray

Matt Gray inspired Sutton to National League title success in 2020-21, his second season at Gander Green Lane, as a part-time club on one of the division’s lowest budgets.

In their first two seasons up in League Two, the U’s missed out on the Play-Offs on the final day, then challenged again the following campaign, moving within two points of the top seven with 11 to play - before falling short in a brutal run-in after an unprecedently injury-hit campaign.

Having been told by owner Bruce Elliott to simply keep the club in the National League at the start of his reign, Gray’s achievements underpin his ability to build a team that consistently performs well, well above the sum of their collective parts.

And, whereas Sutton challenging for the League Two Play-Offs almost borderlined on a fairytale story, theoretically it would be far less of a stretch for Bristol Rovers, who have a midtable budget in League One, to reach the top six under his guidance.

Gray will have learnt a lot from his final season at Sutton, when he lost his job at a time when they had arguably turned a corner, with one defeat in six shortly before the January window, with four first-team defenders, goalkeeper Jack Rose plus captain Craig Eastmond all to return.

The 43-year-old prides himself on fostering a strong working culture, and his sides are built on sturdy foundations and tight distances between units, whilst being able to play good football in the opposing half.

John Coleman

Bristol Rovers will be familiar with John Coleman’s managerial abilities, having gone toe-to-toe with the Liverpudlian in the League Two promotion race of 2015-16 - when Lee Brown’s injury-time winner against Dagenham broke Stanley hearts.

The Reds were promoted two years later, but have still managed more top half League One finishes under Coleman since then – two, to be precise – than the Gas’ one in their first season up under Darrell Clarke, despite the two clubs being incomparable in terms of stature.

Plus, Coleman has been out of management for eight months, wouldn’t cost compensation, and has had some time to rest and reset after a nine-year second stint at Accy.

Rovers are in a relegation battle and could do with an EFL proven manager to ensure they beat the drop – and there’s nobody more EFL proven than Coleman.