Exclusive: Don Goodman names 2 EFL Championship players he thinks could become managers | OneFootball

Sky pundit Don Goodman has named the two players in the Championship that he thinks could become managers

Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman has revealed which two current Championship players he could see becoming a manager or head coach one day upon retiring from football.

The adage that great players don't necessarily become great managers is true. However, becoming a truly great manager requires a degree of intelligence and an abundance of other abilities that few possess.

The likes of Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp, and Marcelo Bielsa all had average to below-average playing careers, yet have gone on to establish themselves as truly great managers, whilst the late Diego Maradona, Wayne Rooney, and Gary Neville were all exceptional footballers in their own right, but subsequently failed to become competent managers.

In the EFL, however, numerous former players have gone on to try their hands at management, with varying degrees of success.

The Championship boasts the likes of John Mousinho, Alan Sheehan, John Eustace and Ryan Mason, who have all played in the EFL at some stage in their careers, whilst Jack Wilshere joins Tom Cleverley, Steven Schumacher and Lee Grant in League One as former EFL players becoming managers/head coaches.

England's second tier has evolved dramatically within the past decade, with more clubs pursuing foreign markets for talented young players instead of looking at the surrounding leagues in the nation, which has seemingly hindered the conveyor belt of leaders within the division.

Nevertheless, it would be disingenuous to suggest that no player in the Championship will not go on to become a manager, as although true leaders are seemingly becoming rarer, leadership is not the only factor that determines who will become a manager.

Football League World has directly asked one Sky Pundit for their opinion on two current Championship players who they think could become managers one day.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman has name-dropped both Sheffield Wednesday's Barry Bannan and Portsmouth's Marlon Pack as two current Championship players he could see becoming a manager one day, with an honourable mention to a former Luton Town hero.

Goodman said, "It's a really difficult question, really, because, obviously, at this stage, I don't know if the players I'm about to mention want to be managers or coaches, but I'm looking for leaders, obviously, and they are a dying breed, without question.

"They don't make leaders the way that they used to. What I would say is that there are a couple of outstanding ones in the Championship in Barry Bannan at Sheffield Wednesday and Marlon Pack at Portsmouth, who display clear leadership qualities. Whether or not they want to be managers, I don't know.

"I'm going to give a shoutout to Tom Lockyer, all the drama and battles that he has had to face. Before that, he really was an incredible leader of that Luton Town squad that got promoted to the Premier League; he's just signed for Bristol Rovers, no doubt that they will benefit from his leadership qualities.

"As I said, it's a difficult one to answer, because without it being out there in the public domain as to whether or not they actually want to be managers makes it difficult."

Barry Bannan and Marlon Pack are backed as the most likely candidates to become managers one day

With all of Sheffield Wednesday's woes, both off-field and on-field, over the years, one man has stayed steadfast in his loyalty to the Owls.

Having joined the South Yorkshire side in August 2015, over ten years ago, Bannan has made over 450 appearances for the club across all competitions, scoring 36 times and grabbing 74 assists in that period, captaining the club through much of that time.

The former Scotland international, now 35, has seen the entire Sheffield Wednesday squad change around him multiple times, as well as remaining a regular under every manager that has taken to the dugout at Hillsborough, and looks to be a likely candidate to go into management one day.

The 34-year-old Pack is an absolute veteran of EFL football, and a name which has been a regular in the three divisions for over 15 years.

Pack, who is the current captain at Portsmouth, has made over 600 career appearances in the EFL with the likes of Cheltenham Town, Bristol City, Cardiff City and Pompey, and has amassed a wealth of experience across his career.

Should he choose to go into management, he would have had more team talks than most in his lifetime, and could certainly transfer his leadership qualities and football brain into management if he pleased.

Whether either will choose to go into management is another thing, but on the face of it, they are two of the most likely candidates.