John O’Shea and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink are among the big names who have shown an interest in the Oxford United job, which has drawn a huge number of enquiries.
The Championship strugglers have begun interviewing contenders for the vacancy created by their decision to sack Gary Rowett just before Christmas and spoke to a number of candidates on Sunday.
The i Paper understands that former Wycombe Wanderers and Luton Town boss Matt Bloomfield is among those who have already been spoken to by Oxford, who currently sit outside the relegation zone on goal difference.
But a decision on the new boss is not understood to be imminent, with further interviews planned in the coming days.
Part of that process has been to sift through a slew of expressions of interest in the role.
The Oxford job, with a recently announced stadium move and ambitious ownership under Indonesian businessman Erick Thohir, holds appeal despite the team’s perilous position this season.
O’Shea is not one of those spoken to yet but sources close to the process believe the former Manchester United and Sunderland defender could emerge as a leading contender.
He has built a solid reputation as part of the Republic of Ireland backroom staff and is understood to be keen to test himself in club management but he would have to weigh that up against the prospect of being part of the World Cup play-offs in March with his country.
Hasselbaink, who was part of Gareth Southgate’s England coaching staff during Euro 2024, feels like more of an outsider and has just taken a coaching role with the Suriname national team for their World Cup qualifiers in 2026.
He is understood to be keen to get back into day-to-day management, though, with his last front-line role at Burton Albion way back in 2022.
Michael Beale is the favourite to be their next manager according to the bookmakers (Photo: Getty)The current favourite for the job is ex-Sunderland and Rangers manager Michael Beale with Crystal Palace coach Paddy McCarthy and the experienced Tony Mowbray -who left West Brom earlier in the year – also high in bookmakers’ lists.
Fourth favourite is Liam Manning, who departed Bristol City earlier in the season, but The i Paper has been told he currently has no plans to return to Oxford despite some enthusiasm from within the club for a return.
John Terry was another high-profile name linked with the job but posted a video on social media on Sunday in which he said he was not a contender and “ruled himself out completely”.
For Oxford the decision will surely boil down to whether they want to take the risk of appointing a manager with no previous experience in the club game as such a critical juncture in the season.
The Championship is certainly an unforgiving environment for a rookie manager, with six clubs having already sacked their bosses this season.
A seventh, Rob Edwards, left his role at Middlesbrough to join seemingly doomed Wolverhampton Wanderers and the average tenure for a second tier boss is now just over a year in charge.
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