Next Oldham Manager Odds: David Unsworth, David Artell, Keith Hill all linked
Oldham legend John Sheridan is set to leave the club for a sixth time.
Sheridan returned to the Latics dugout in January when the then League Two club were rock-bottom and seven points adrift of safety. Despite making an initial impact he was unable to keep his beloved club in the Football League, while a return of eight points from eight games in the National League has resulted in the manager and club deciding to part ways.
However, Oldham have confirmed that Sheridan will oversee the side for Saturday’s clash at home to Eastleigh “to allow him the send-off he deserves and to give fans the opportunity to show their appreciation”.
Since Lee Johnson left Oldham in 2015, there have been a preposterous 17 different managerial spells at the club, held by 14 different managers. Seven of those spells have been 15 matches or fewer while, quite staggeringly, not a single boss hit the 50 game landmark during that time. The highest being Richie Wellens' lofty tally of 43.
So, who will the club - now overseen by the Rothwell family - opt for this time?
Despite the club’s slide down the league ladder into the National League, coupled with their underwhelming start, it does still represent an attractive job and one that will receive plenty of interest. Simply put, stability must now be key following the outrageously high turnover of managers in recent years.
David Unsworth has emerged as the hot early favourite in the next Oldham manager market, with BetVictor listing the former Everton caretaker at just 1/4 following Thursday’s announcement.
Unsworth, who previously played under Oldham director Joe Royle, left his role as Everton’s Club’s Academy Director and Under-23s in April in order to embark on a career in management. He’s yet to land a No.1 position but has been linked with a fair few jobs, including Oldham’s neighbours Rochdale earlier this season. He was favourite for that vacancy too, but nothing materialised, so we can't take his current odds of 1/4 as gospel just yet.
Former Crewe manager David Artell remains available for hire after leaving the Railwaymen at the backend of last season. Artell’s tenure may have ended in relegation down to League Two but he can look back on a fantastic five years, during which he swatted away the threat of relegation out of the EFL and propelled an exciting, young side into League One where they spent two seasons.
Artell lives in the North West and is currently available at 14/1 in the betting. Given his experience and the level he was previously operating at, he could well need some persuading to step down into the National League, although it’s worth noting that Chesterfield did lure over Paul Cook last season.
Other names linked include former Barnet boss Darren Currie (14/1), who is currently working as the assistant head coach of Southend United. Experienced ex-Rochdale manager Keith Hill (25/1) is available following a disappointing stint at Scunthorpe, and we’re still waiting to see the next move of Chris Beech (33/1) following his departure from Carlisle a year ago. Former Premier League manager Phil Brown (33/1) is also in the Job Centre.
Could Oldham dip into the non-league managerial pool?
Tommy Widdrington (33/1) has Kings Lynn Town flying and unbeaten at the top of the National League North. The division is also now home to former Man Utd player Jonathan Greening (25/1) after he led Scarborough - now 2nd - to promotion in his first season. Then there’s Russell Penn (25/1) who enjoyed that memorable FA Cup run with Kidderminster last season, when his side came agonisingly close to stunning West Ham.
Young managerial talent Nathan Rooney, 32, could offer Oldham something different at 33/1. Rooney has coaching experience from various roles at Blackburn, Fleetwood and Crawley, and recently took Gibraltar side FC Bruno’s Magpies from third-bottom in the table through to the Europa Conference League qualifiers.
