Next Tranmere Manager Odds: Six candidates to replace Nigel Adkins

EFL pundit Gab Sutton looks at six names in the frame to replace Nigel Adkins at Tranmere Rovers, as they look to preserve their EFL status, before embarking on what could be an exciting journey under new ownership.

1. Ryan Lowe

As Ryan Lowe would represent a sharp and refreshing instant contrast to predecessor Nigel Adkins, because he’s not shy to call people out.

Outspoken and charismatic, the 46-year-old should make an immediate impact if he gets the job at Prenton Park, and would command respect because of his career history.

Lowe has won promotions from this level before with Bury and Plymouth Argyle, before laying the foundations for the second at Home Park, from League One, then stabilizing low-budgeted Preston North End in the Championship’s midtable.

2. Neil Danns

Having been assistant manager at Tranmere, after winning the Northern Premier League Division One West (8th-tier) with Macclesfield, Neil Danns knows the current squad, therefore might already have a view on what’s required to improve things, and if he’s well-liked he may be able to get a tune out of them.

At the same time, there’s another argument that if he’s been part of the Nigel Adkins regime that’s failed catastrophically this season, then why would he deserve an internal promotion?

Danns might be a great coach, but right now he doesn’t have a strong enough coaching profile to back that up, and there may be better options Rovers can attract with the incoming investment.

3. Andy Crosby

Andy Crosby has been given the chance to lead the team in the interim period but, similarly to Danns, it’s not as if he’s made any sort of difference as a coach, looking at results alone.

Since the 51-year-old arrived in December to assist Adkins, with the aim of fixing the defence, Tranmere have taken just 10 points from 14 games, losing eight of them, conceding 26 goals.

4. Jon Brady

The most successful manager in Northampton Town’s modern history, Jon Brady is looking for a club with the long-term wherewithal to consistently thrive, more than thrive, in League One.

Tranmere Rovers could be one of them, with the takeover, despite their current on-field predicament, which the Aussie could help ease with his strong out-of-possession coaching.

So, if the 50-year-old can be paired with a specialist, in-possession coach with a high-end developmental background, Rovers could have an excellent management team on their hands.

5. Leighton Baines

After retiring from playing in 2020, Leighton Baines has now had five years’ coaching experience at Everton, working his way up to the first-team coaching staff.

The 40-year-old clearly had a head-start at Goodison Park because of his legendary playing reputation, but you’ve got to be good enough as a coach, too, to make that sort of journey at a Premier League club.

So, if Baines now wants to prove himself as a manager, without completely destabilising his family life, in which he’s married with three children, a local EFL head coach role could fit the bill, and none fits that description better than Tranmere.

And, with the ambition of the club under new ownership, it could be an intriguing opportunity for the former left-back.

6. Phil Parkinson (Altrincham)

One great combination at Tranmere could be Rafa Benitez as Director of Football, with Phil Parkinson (the Altrincham one) as manager.

That way, you have a combination of Benitez’s top level contacts and pull, strategic mind, with an elite understanding of how to build a successful team, and Parkinson’s non-league knowledge, and understanding of how to realistically make it all work at a lower level.

Between them, they could be the perfect match: Benitez’s advanced ideas, and Parkinson’s instinct for how to apply them to League Two.

Benitez reportedly lives just 10 minutes down the road from Prenton Park, and with a family settled in the area, could be receptive to an exciting, long-term project – he once told Roy Keane he liked Tranmere on the podcast ‘Stick To Football’.

Parkinson, meanwhile, has overseen Altrincham’s journey into becoming a consistent Play-Off contender in the National League on a bottom-end budget, with part of it having been spent as a part-time club, all whilst playing attacking, front-foot football and developing players.