50-year-old keen on landing Barnsley FC managerial vacancy after 4-year international stint | OneFootball

Rob Page is keen to get back into club management, and is eyeing up the vacant job at Oakwell

Former Wales international boss Rob Page is keen on landing the vacant manager's job at League One side Barnsley.

The Tykes hierarchy made a change earlier this season, dispensing of the services of Darrell Clarke after less than a year in charge at Oakwell - that was despite winning three league matches in a row prior to back-to-back defeats against Charlton Athletic and Blackpool.

Former Barnsley player turned coach Conor Hourihane is in caretaker charge for the rest of the season, with the club's play-off hopes petering out, and with the job one that will no doubt be highly coveted, a man who knows South Yorkshire very well - having played for Sheffield United - has reportedly thrown his hat into the ring.

Ex-Wales manager Rob Page keen on Barnsley FC job

According to journalist Alan Nixon, Page is interested in the Barnsley managerial vacancy if the club decide to go for an outside hire come the end of 2024-25.

Hourihane took charge of his first match this weekend, with Mansfield Town coming out on top 2-1 at Field Mill thanks to a 90th-minute winner, with that result leaving Barnsley nine points off the play-off spots.

Should Neerav Parekh and co look elsewhere come May in regards to the dugout at Oakwell, Page is reportedly keen on a crack at club management once more after four years in charge of Wales.

As manager of Wales, Page took the Dragons into the knockout rounds of EURO 2020 and into the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but they did not make it to EURO 2024 after being eliminated at the final play-off stage by Poland - a result which saw the 50-year-old's four-year tenure end.

Rob Page's experience as a club manager as he throws his hat into Barnsley FC ring

Page has limited experience as a club manager, leading Port Vale from September 2014 to May 2016, and then a brief half-season stint at Northampton Town being his only times as a number one in the EFL - he is seemingly looking to take his experiences with Wales though and put them to use once more at club level.

Having left Vale Park for Sixfields in 2016, which was somewhat of a sideways step given both clubs were in League One at the time, Page ended up being sacked in January 2017 by the Cobblers, but he soon stepped into a coaching role with Nottingham Forest, which then paved the way for him to get involved in the Wales coaching setup.

The former centre-back's time as a club manager may be quite limited, but having coached some top talents for Wales over the course of the last four years, Page may be primed for a crack once more at the EFL - should Barnsley look externally for their permanent Clarke replacement.