"Decent fit" - Exclusive: Claim made on Ian Evatt and the Barnsley manager's job | OneFootball

Lee Hendrie has told FLW his verdict on Ian Evatt taking charge at Barnsley

Lee Hendrie has claimed that Ian Evatt will likely keep his options open for a Championship job instead of immediately jumping in at Barnsley.

The Tykes are currently searching for a new permanent manager following Darrell Clarke’s dismissal earlier this month.

Conor Hourihane has been placed in charge on a temporary basis, with Evatt now available after his exit from Bolton Wanderers in January.

It remains to be seen whether Evatt would be open to a move to Oakwell, having been with the Whites for almost five years.

Hendrie makes Evatt to Barnsley claim

Hendrie believes that Evatt could be a good fit for Barnsley due to their potential to fight for a place in the Championship.

However, the former Aston Villa player is unsure whether he’d be willing to jump into the role in the summer as he may want to keep his options open in case an actual Championship role comes up.

“Ian Evatt obviously out of his managerial role at Bolton, should he consider that [Barnsley] job in the summer? Maybe,” Hendrie exclusively told Football League World.

“Again, it’s a football club that actually has got potential to get to the Championship.

“I know that’s where Ian is striving to do and take himself and the football club that he’s linked with.

“Bolton, what he did there and what he achieved, I thought was quite fantastic because they had to go all the way back down, budgets were very low.

“They’re obviously still a big club in stature, but behind the scenes he had to do a lot of recruiting and I thought he did an absolutely amazing job.

“I think it came to a stage where he’d done so much there that I feel he’s got potential, personally, to manage in the Championship.

“So I think he’ll be looking to keep his options open because of how well he did at Bolton, in my eyes.

“And obviously there is a massive potential there at Barnsley, so maybe he would be a decent fit for them as he’s available at the moment.”

Barnsley are currently 11th in the League One table, eight points adrift of the play-offs with only eight games remaining.

Evatt would be a great appointment for Barnsley

Evatt’s time at Bolton came to an underwhelming and disappointing end, but there is no denying the great work he did at the club prior to this season.

If Barnsley are serious about promotion to the Championship, then this could be a really smart appointment.

But Hendrie brings up a valid concern, which is that he might wait for a promising Championship move to open up, as it’s very possible someone from the second tier will take a look at him.

Any appointment would have to wait until the summer, and Barnsley might want someone in sooner in order to get a head start on work for next season.