Exclusive: Brendan Rodgers & Russell Martin backed to be on Swansea City shortlist - Sky pundit names 3 others | OneFootball

Lee Hendrie has spoken to FLW about who Swansea City should appoint as Alan Sheehan’s successor.

Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie believes whoever takes on the Swansea City job needs significant backing after the club parted ways with Alan Sheehan on Tuesday.

The Swans are the latest club to be on the lookout for a new boss, with a 4-1 home defeat to Ipswich Town calling an end to Sheehan’s six-month tenure, who had been in charge of their worst start to a season since their last relegation from the Premier League.

The Welsh outfit currently sit 18th in the Championship, with only one victory from their last seven league outings, and are just seven points clear of the bottom three.

Swansea will have to act quickly to appoint a successor too, with Norwich City and Southampton also on the lookout for new managers after pulling the trigger on Liam Manning and Will Still respectively.

It is of course difficult at this stage of the season to decide on who is best for the job given the current crop of available options always limited after a season has begun, but the club will be hopeful that how they have acted can help them look up the table rather than over their shoulders in the coming weeks and months.

With this news in mind, ex-Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has spoken to FLW about who he expects to be on the Swansea City manager shortlist.

Lee Hendrie backs Michael Carrick, Steven Gerrard, Gary O’Neil, Brendan Rodgers and Russell Martin to be on Swansea City manager shortlist

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie believes Swansea City will be considering all of Michael Carrick, Steven Gerrard, Gary O’Neil, Brendan Rodgers and Russell Martin to replace Alan Sheehan, but insists the club will need to show ambition and financial backing if they want to move forward.

Hendrie said: “Yeah, I was a little surprised really. Obviously, looking at the results, they lacked that consistency and that’s why it’s resorted to this. They’ve got quite early with it, I wouldn’t say they are in the best of form, but it hasn’t been the worst where you expected a sacking.

“With Swansea, I feel they’ve been standing still for quite some time and haven’t had the funds to bring big players into go and progress, and they did play a lovely style under him (Sheehan).

“I think the usual suspects are going to be in favour for this, like the previous vacant jobs, the likes of Michael Carrick, the likes of Steven Gerrard, and if you’re going further down the field, you’re looking at a Russell Martin, maybe who could suit that blend, or they could go outside the box and get someone who’s looking for a job but not on the emerging shortlist.

“Of course it’s a club that wants to be doing a hell of a lot better than where they are in the league, so, for me, it’s going to be out of that list, unless they completely go away from the handful of managers that are available at the moment, and that would be the likes of Carrick, Gerrard, Brendan Rodgers, Gary O’Neil, you’d think they’d try and prize them to the football club, but they need backing.”

With Swansea City currently in a precarious position, it’s imperative the hierarchy hire the right man that can transform their fortunes and steer them away from any relegation danger.

From the candidates mentioned by Lee Hendrie, you would have to feel the likes of Michael Carrick or Russell Martin would be the best two to pursue given their levels of experience managing in the Championship and their track record of guiding teams to compete for promotion places.

It’s always a gamble to take on a boss who isn’t suited to the rough and tumble of the second-tier, so approaching Brendan Rodgers or Gary O’Neil may not be at the forefront of the Swansea board at the moment.

A move for a foreign manager could be a possibility though, with Hammerby boss Kim Hellberg reportedly a contender and holding “informal talks” with the club, as per Wales Online.

This goes to show that the vacancy is wide open for candidates to stake their claim for landing the role at the moment, but Swansea will still have to move quickly, as the team needs to be as best prepared as possible for when they return to Championship action against Bristol City on November 22nd.