Next Preston Manager Odds: Crawley Boss Scott Lindsey New Favourite

Red Devils Boss Scott Lindsey New Favourite

Scott Lindsey has made quite an impact as manager of Crawley and is the early 5/2 favourite with football betting sites to fill the vacancy at Deepdale.

The 52-year-old from Walsall spent the whole of his playing career in non-league, but got his first break in coaching in 2010 when he replaced Chris Sutton as caretaker at Lincoln, who were subsequently relegated from the Football League.

After a spell at Chatham, Lindsey replaced Ben Garner as Swindon head coach in June 2022 following a stint as assistant, but seven months later he was appointed Crawley manager where he has enjoyed great success.

Lindsey joined the club in January 2023 and kept the Red Devils safe from relegation thanks to a strong run towards the end of the season.

Incredibly, Lindsey enhanced his reputation further by leading Town into League One last season thanks to a 2-0 play-off final victory against Crewe.

Marsh Can Make Impression

Former Liverpool and West Ham player Mike Marsh has been given the chance to stake his claim for the Preston job on a permanent basis following Lowe’s dismissal.

The Liverpudlian has been appointed caretaker for this week’s games and if he does well, he will certainly enter the thoughts of the club’s board as a potential candidate.

Marsh has only ever been the main man at Northwich Victoria, but he was both an U18s and first-team coach at Liverpool between 2011-15 after which he joined Huddersfield to assist manager David Wagner.

Spells with the England U17 side and Swansea followed before he eventually joined Preston in December 2021.

This is Marsh’s chance to shine and he stands at 3/1 to be given the opportunity to manage a Football League club for the first time.

Heckingbottom And Healy In The Picture

Paul Heckingbottom remains out of work, but could he be the man to come to Preston's rescue?

Heckingbottom (4/1) has been linked with a number of clubs since his sacking at Sheffield United last December when the Blades were sitting bottom of the Premier League.

The manager's credentials remain high despite his departure from Bramall Lane, as the club's budget made it difficult for any manager to keep the Blades up.  

The 47-year-old Yorkshireman has spent plenty of time working as a pundit covering the second tier, so he'll be a good choice for Preston. 

Northern Ireland legend David Healy spent five years with Preston from the turn of the century, scoring 44 goals in 137 league appearances in the third and second tiers, so he would be a popular and familiar appointment.

Healy has been Linfield manager since 2015, winning the Northern Ireland Premiership on five occasions, but could he cut it in the Championship?

Like Heckingbottom, Healy is also 4/1 for an emotional return to Preston.

Could Moyes Return?

David Moyes cut his managerial teeth at Preston between 1998-2002 during which he won the Second Division title in the 1999-2000 campaign.

The Scot spent a lengthy spell as Everton manager, but then had the toughest of all tasks as replacement for Alex Ferguson at Manchester United which lasted less than a season.

Poor spells at Real Sociedad and Sunderland followed, but he enjoyed better success at West Ham where he won the Europa Conference League during a five-and-a-half-year reign.

Moyes parted company with the Hammers in May, although he may still feel he has what it takes to be a Premier League manager.

BetVictor makes Moyes 5/1 to return to his former club.

Barry-Murphy And Neil Eye New Challenges

Brian Barry-Murphy has only ever managed one club, Rochdale, where he spent two seasons.

He resigned in the summer of 2021 to take over as the manager of Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad where he spent three successful seasons.

However, he left the role in July, saying he feels “ready for a new challenge”. 

BetVictor have priced Barry-Murphy at 10/1 for the permanent Lilywhites role

Alex Neil led the market at 4/6 on new betting sites, but he has since drifted to 14/1.

Neil's last appointment was at Stoke City, where he won 22 of his 66 games in charge. His last game was a 0-0 draw at home to Millwall on December 23, which extended City's winless run to nine. 

The Scot has plenty of experience with spells in charge of Sunderland, Preston and Norwich after starting his managerial career at Hamilton.

Trio 20/1 To Land Lilywhites Role

Dave Challinor, Callum Davidson and Gary Rowett are all available at 20/1 to fill the vacancy.

Challinor has led Stockport from the National League to League One in three seasons and he is surely a candidate to test himself at a higher level.

Former Preston skipper Davidson was appointed Queen’s Park manager at the start of the year, but he would be sorely tempted by a return to Deepdale where he spent seven seasons.

Davidson has had coaching spells at St Johnstone, Stoke, Dunfermline and Millwall, before returning to McDiarmid Park in 2020 as manager.

The Scot worked with Rowett at both Stoke and Millwall, but the latter has a decent chance of landing the Preston job despite failing to keep Birmingham in the Championship last season.