Who AI thinks Wigan Athletic, Blackburn Rovers and Leicester City should appoint as their new managers | OneFootball

Football League World has consulted ChatGPT to get its opinion on who will be the next man to manage the trio of EFL sides

The managerial carousel is in full effect in the EFL currently, as three of the more traditional 'big name' sides in the 72 are on the search for new guidance in the dugout.

Wigan Athletic, Leicester City and Blackburn Rovers are not where they'd expect themselves to be, given their pedigree, battling relegation in League One and the Championship, respectively.

And, while relegation for any of the trio would be a real disappointment, there's still plenty of time to turn things around and go on a good run in the final few months of the campaign under the new manager to avoid the drop.

That means that the next appointment needs to be spot on, as it could be the difference between survival and relegation.

Football League World has turned to popular AI-based chat service ChatGPT to gauge its thoughts on who should be the next manager for the three struggling sides.

AI predicts Russell Martin to become the next Leicester City manager

Of all three clubs, Leicester are the side who have been managerless for longer, after Marti Cifuentes was dismissed by the Foxes in late January.

Things have gone from bad to worse since his departure, both on the field and off it, with Leicester losing both games under interim manager Andy King, picking up red cards in both, too, plus the six-point deduction for breaching the Profit and Sustainability ruling, now putting them level on points with the bottom three.

ChatGPT believes that former Southampton and Rangers boss Russell Martin will be the man to drag them out of this mess and steer them to survival.

At Rangers, Martin never really got going and was dismissed after just 17 games in charge, but at St Mary's, he led a squad full of talented players to promotion via the play-offs.

The Foxes need that experience, and someone who can deal with a squad that, on paper, should be a lot higher than they are in reality, and AI feels that Martin could provide that.

AI predicts that Tony Mowbray will return for a second spell at Blackburn Rovers

As for Blackburn, the Ewood Park-based side arguably needs a more pragmatic approach to secure survival, given the lack of quality in the squad compared to Leicester's, who are now their closest rivals.

Valerien Ismael's style didn't work out, and he was sacked on deadline day due to an eight-game winless run in the league.

The feeling around the club currently is rather toxic, given the fans' rejection of the current ownership, and the Venky's will need to bring in someone who can galvanise the side and bring back some positivity to mask what's happening off-field.

And, despite reports perhaps stating otherwise, AI feels that a return for Tony Mowbray could be on the cards.

Mowbray has been out of work since departing West Brom in the final stages of last season. At Ewood Park, he enjoyed the longest spell of his managerial career, spending five years at the club between 2017 and 2022.

Ultimately, a return for the 62-year-old could mirror that of his previous spell, where he came to the club in February but couldn't keep them from falling into League One. Then, in his first full season, Rovers bounced straight back.

Ideally, that wouldn't happen, and Blackburn would stay in the Championship this season. If it were to happen, perhaps Mowbray could be the man to guide them to it.

Glenn Whelan predicted by AI to be promoted from interim to permanent manager at Wigan Athletic

And finally, ChatGPT feels that Wigan will hire in-house to replace Ryan Lowe, who was sacked following a 6-1 defeat at Peterborough United on Saturday — the first time Latics had conceded six in a league game in over 15 years.

Wigan are now firmly in the League One relegation zone, but they do have a chance to climb out with their game in hand on Tuesday night against Reading.

In the dugout for that game will be the interim duo of Graham Barrow and Glenn Whelan, and AI feels that the latter will be given the job permanently in the future.

The former Republic of Ireland midfielder has been at the Brick Community Stadium since September 2024, serving on the coaching staff of the previous two managers, Lowe and Shaun Maloney.

It likely wouldn't be the most popular hire, and plenty of Tics fans would hope that the next man in will be a more experienced head, better suited to dragging them out of this current relegation scrap, or perhaps even a more attractive 'project' manager who can lead them safely away from the bottom four and have them well-suited to bounce back up the table next season.

But if Whelan can steady the ship and provide good results alongside Graham Barrow in the interim, AI feels that those at the club may feel inclined to see if he can carry that on for the rest of the season.