Bristol City: 48-year-old set to beat Rob Edwards in race to succeed Liam Manning as manager | OneFootball

The former Koln boss is set to replace Liam Manning later this week

Bristol City are set to announce Austrian coach Gerhard Struber as their new manager this week, fending off the likes of Rob Edwards for the job.

As per journalist John Percy of the Telegraph, the 48-year-old "impressed in talks" and will be confirmed as Liam Manning's successor later this week, putting an end to another EFL managerial saga.

The former FC Koln, RB Salzburg and New York Red Bulls manager will make his return to England after being the driving force behind Barnsley's great escape from relegation in the 2019/20 Championship season.

Now, he has his sights on bringing Bristol City to a second successive play-off campaign, with the vacancy opening up following Manning's departure to divisional rivals Norwich City recently.

Bristol City set to secure Gerhard Struber as their new manager

Bristol City had narrowed their search down to three candidates towards the tail end of last week, but now they seem to have their man, as Gerhard Struber is set to become the new head coach at Ashton Gate.

Former Luton Town boss Rob Edwards was on the list alongside another unnamed candidate, but it looks like the Robins have made the decision to bring in the former Koln head coach.

It brings an end to a nearly two-week manager hunt, after Bristol City were forced into finding a new head coach following the departure of Liam Manning to Norwich City, less than a month after he helped City to a top-six finish in the Championship for the first time since 2008.

Struber arrives having recently managed Koln, and has also had periods managing RB Salzburg, New York Red Bulls and Barnsley.

Koln recently won the 2. Bundesliga in a campaign in which Struber took charge of all but the final two weeks of the season, being sacked ahead of the final two games despite the club in an automatic promotion spot at the time.

Gerhard Struber has unfinished business in the Championship after Barnsley stint

Taking the Bristol City role marks Struber's first in England since he helped Barnsley secure Championship survival in the 2019/20 season, thanks to stoppage-time winners against Brentford and Nottingham Forest, two sides battling for promotion and play-offs respectively, in the final two games.

He began the 2020/21 season when the Tykes secured an unlikely play-off place as their manager, but left just four games into the campaign following an approach from New York Red Bulls.

Struber's final weeks as Barnsley boss saw him call out the club's owners for not bringing in a quality striker, saying that he has ambitions and goals, and that it "wasn't his goal to compete in the relegation zone".

Now, he's at a club with ambitions to find themselves in the top six for a second consecutive season.

Time will tell whether he'll be backed as much as he would have wanted at Barnsley during his time at Ashton Gate, but bringing him in shows the current intent of Bristol City to battle once again with the likes of Coventry, Sheffield United and the recently relegated Premier League sides for a place in the top-flight in 2026/27.