3 managers Bristol City simply must look at after Roy Hodgson | OneFootball

Roy Hodgson will oversee the rest of the season at Bristol City

Bristol City have made the decision to sack Gerhard Struber with just seven games left in the Championship season.

The Robins have appointed former England manager Roy Hodgson in his place, with the 78-year-old returning to the club that he once managed in 1982.

The veteran coach will oversee the remainder of the campaign on an interim basis, with the team 16th in the table, 12 points adrift of the play-off places.

Bristol City finished sixth in the previous campaign under Liam Manning, but his summer departure to Norwich City led to Struber’s arrival in his place.

With the play-offs now effectively off the table, Hodgson will be tasked with overseeing a calm end to the term, and ensuring the team doesn’t slide into a relegation battle.

But here we look at three managers the Robins have to consider following the end of his interim stint in charge at Aston Gate…

Will Still

Will Still took over at Southampton last summer after building a strong reputation for positive football in France.

Stints at Reims and Lens had impressed, and he arrived at the Saints as an exciting appointment after their relegation from the Premier League.

But he lasted just a few months in charge before being sacked in November, with Tonda Eckert overseeing a much more positive run of form as his replacement.

However, Still was quite unlucky during his spell at St. Mary’s, with the team failing to put away their chances on a consistent basis.

The 33-year-old is worth taking a risk on for Bristol City, if he’s willing to join, as he is still young in his coaching career and there’s every chance that things could go better for the Robins.

Martí Cifuentes

Martí Cifuentes is another coach that took over a Championship rival in the summer who is now out of work.

The Spaniard did well at QPR for 18 months before becoming Leicester City boss, where he struggled to replicate that same kind of impact.

The size of the task at the King Power Stadium was evidently bigger than many expected when he took over, with the team unable to turn around their form with his departure.

At a more stable club like Bristol City, perhaps Cifuentes could oversee the kind of results that earned him a reputation as an exciting coach from his time at Loftus Road.

There are no guarantees that he'd have the team competing for a play-off place again, but it could be a risk worth taking based on how everything clicked at QPR when things were going more smoothly.

Russell Martin

Russell Martin’s reputation grew and grew from MK Dons to Swansea City to promotion to the Premier League with Southampton in 2024.

However, he has been on a downward slope since, with the Saints unable to compete in the top flight under his management before he then lasted just a few months at Rangers.

However, both troubled parts of his coaching career were circumstantial, and it shouldn't be enough to deter the Robins from pursuing his appointment in the summer.

The Southampton squad was just not good enough to compete in the top flight, and the Rangers job has proven a poisoned chalice for a great number of coaches in the recent past.

Martin is still a proven coach at a Championship level, and if he can be convinced to join Bristol City then his arrival could be a real coup.