Who wants to be a Huddersfield Town manager?

When Simon Grayson was sacked at the end of January following a run of 12 league games without a win, pretty much every Town fan hoped Nigel Adkins would be the man to replace him. Unemployed after being sacked by Southampton, Adkins has a brilliant record following stints at Scunthorpe and Southampton. We all clearly want him, but the important question is does he want us?

The managerial merry-go-round is in full effect at the minute - Grayson joins the likes of Keith Hill, Stale Solbakken, Derek McInnes, Owen Coyle, Henning Berg and most recently Alex McLeish who have all left Championship clubs this season. Whoever is appointed Town manager will also become the third manager inside a year, presuming they are appointed before 15th February. It therefore has to be questions, how attractive is the Huddersfield Town job to potential candidates, and would they want to come here?

Nigel Adkins

2/1 favourite for the Forest job at the time of writing, Adkins led Scunthorpe United to two promotions in three years and then took Southampton from League One to the Premier League in just two seasons. His CV is by far the most impressive of all those rumoured to be on our shortlist of candidates, meaning he could also be considered the most unlikely of the candidates to want the job. He might be out of work but he also has a solid reputation these days following his heroics at St Mary's, and could more than likely hold out for a higher profile position, like the one that just opened up at the City Ground.

Paolo Di Canio

The Italian led Swindon Town to the League Two title last season and they've continued to progress in League One, currently sitting Fourth in the table. Di Canio is currently 12/1 to get the job and he's never been much higher than third or fourth favourite, perhaps indicating that although people rate him, they don't necessarily see him being appointed. It's thought that Dean Hoyle became fed up with Lee Clark's erratic behaviour and the Georgie can't hold a candle to the antics of Di Canio. A self confessed fascist who is on the front page as much as the back, no matter how good his managerial record is you can certainly see why people don't think Hoyle would want to work with him.

Owen Coyle

Many people see him as a more likely candidate than either of the above, not as erratic as Di Canio and not as high profile as Adkins. However, given that he's apparently already refused to even discuss managerial positions at Ipswich Town and Blackpool, would he see Huddersfield Town as a better option? Coyle built solid foundations at Burnley and got them promoted to the Premier League when nobody gave them a chance, but made a surprise move to rivals Bolton Wanderers just as things were starting to go wrong at Turf Moor. A good first year in charge was followed by a terrible drop in results and performances, leading to relegation and his eventual dismissal.

Mark Robins

On paper the former Robins makes perfect sense. His first managerial job was at Rotherham when the club was going through a period of uncertainty, and he nearly delivered promotion in his first season and then also in his second season despite a 17 point deduction. Robins was then hired by Barnsley and kept them safe in the Championship for two seasons before leaving after a disagreement over transfer funds with the board. Most recently he was appointed manager of Coventry City and has transformed them from relegation fodder to likely promotion candidates. However, having only took charge at the Ricoh Arena in September, would he be willing to move again so soon?

Paul Tisdale

Similar to Robins, current Exeter City manager Tisdale is a young manager with a decent record. Back-to-back promotions into the Football League and then to League One have seen him become a popular candidate for many jobs. Just as popular as his track record for over-performing (consecutive promotions and then keeping Exeter in League One, for a season at least) is the fact that his teams play a short passing style of football. Tisdale seems to fit the mould for matching the long-term ambition of the club that Hoyle, Clibbens and Wilson keep talking about, but having turned down the Swansea City job not too long ago would he be willing to move North to Huddersfield?

Richie Barker

This one seems to have come from nowhere, and Barker is currently third favourite to get the job at 7/1. He did a brilliant job transitioning from youth team manager to full-time manager at Bury, leading them to promotion from League Two and maintaining their League One status. He landed the Crawley Town job in August, citing them as a "club on the up" when he took charge. You therefore have to presume Huddersfield would be a step up from Crawley, so if approached he could be interested if he's as ambitious as he seems. Relatively inexperienced and with a track record not quite as impressive as other candidates, Barker would hardly excite Town fans.

Uwe Rosler

Former Manchester City striker Rosler took temprorary charge of Molde FK in August 2010 and doubled their points in the final eight games of the season, saving them from relegation. Despite this fantastic feat he was replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and while the former United striker has been linked with many high profile jobs since, the former City striker is doing a very steady job with Brentford, albeit with much less admiration. Rosler has Brentford sitting Fifth in League One, and playing very good football too. He's not even listed on Skybet but could be a good shout as he should fit the mould described by Clibbens and Brentford to Huddersfield is undoubtedly a step up.

Steven Pressley

Perhaps the most underwhelming of all the managers we've been linked to, Pressley is current manager at Scottish side Falkirk, a club Town know a lot about. Ross Wilson spent 15 months there as Head of Football Development, and we've also signed Scott Arfield, Kallum Higginbotham and Murray Wallace from Falkirk in recent seasons. Having been assistant manager to George Burley in his spell as Scotland manager, Pressley was appointed manager of Falkirk in 2010. They were relegated top the First Division in his first season in charge and as yet they've failed to bounce back, languishing in mid-table.

Gary Megson

Did I say Pressley was the most underwhelming candidate for the job? Perhaps not if the reaction to Gary Megson attending this past weekends match is anything to go by. Sheffield Wednesday sacked him almost a year ago, and upon doing so improved dramatically and achieved promotion under Dave Jones. Although it's argued Megson can get results for teams, and is known for getting 100% commitment from his players which is something we're in desperate need of, the boring style of football he prefers will turn many Town fans off.

Gareth Southgate

The last name on this shortlist of potential managers is former Middlesbrough manager, and current Head of Elite Development at the Football Assocation, Gareth Southgate. Although many view his time at Middlesbrough as a failure he did bring through some players who have gone on to be sold for profit and built a core part of their current team. The former England defender is another candidate who will fit into the long-term vision Hoyle, Clibbens and Wilson are looking to build as he would look to make use of the academy system we already have in place. Hoyle is also a known fan of Southgate, but it's unlikely he could be tempted away from his punditry job as well as his role at the FA.

Although Adkins and Di Canio remain my two preferred candidates to replace Simon Grayson, it's looking more and more likely our eventual new manager could come as a surprise to many. With some potential candidates looking like they won't fit into the vision of our chairman, and with some perhaps not wanting to manage Huddersfield Town, we'll just have to wait and see who is not only ideal but also interested in it.