Next Coventry City manager: Ex-Birmingham City star among favourites to replace Mark Robins

Coventry City are on the lookout for a new manager after parting ways with long-serving boss Mark Robins.

After nearly eight years in the post, Robins was relieved of his duties on Thursday morning. It came following a 2-1 defeat to Derby County the previous night, and that left them in 17th, outside of the relegation zone on goal difference.

Robins took the club from League Two to within a whisker of the Premier League, and almost got them to an FA Cup final as well. He was third longest-serving manager in England, and now the Sky Blues find themselves tasked with a big decision.

In their statement, Coventry said they would their time to appoint a successor. The role will also change from first-team manager to head coach. Former Sheffield United coach Rhys Carr has been named as interim head coach for their game against Sunderland, but already the markets have opened up as to who could take up the Coventry Building Society Arena hot seat.

Former Birmingham City midfielder Lee Carsley is among the favourites to land the job. He’s currently in charge of the England national team, and will oversee the two Nations League matches against Greece and the Republic of Ireland this month, before he stands aside to make way for Thomas Tuchel.

When Tuchel takes charge of the Three Lions in January 2025, Carsley will resume his post as manager of England’s under-21s. He guided them to a EUROs title in 2023, but is he ready for his first permanent job in senior football?

Birmingham-born Carsley spent two seasons at St Andrew's as a player, and made 53 appearances. He is most remembered for his time at Everton, in which he got to play in the UEFA Cup.

The 50-year-old finished his career with Coventry, and managed them twice on a caretaker basis. Carsley also assumed the post at Brentford, managing them for 10 games before making way for former Aston Villa boss Dean Smith. Birmingham appointed him as their under-21s head coach, but he found himself managing the first-team for three games after the sacking of Steve Cotterill.

Since September 2020, Carsley has been involved in the age-grade England teams, but now the opportunity has arisen for him to return to club management. Explaining to the Independent last month, why he didn’t want the main England job, he said: ““This job deserves a world-class coach that has won trophies and been there and done it – and I’m still on the path to doing that.”

Former Chelsea and Everton manager Frank Lampard is the favourite for the job. Behind Carsley is Ruben Selles, currently the manager of Birmingham’s league rivals Reading. Ashley Cole who was a coach at St Andrew’s has the same chances as Gary Rowett who had two spells in charge at Birmingham.

Next Coventry City manager

Frank Lampard - 2/1

Lee Carsley - 5/1

Ruben Selles - 7/1

Liam Rosenior - 8/1

Alex Neil, Gareth Southgate, and Jim Goodwin - 14/1

Graham Potter - 16/1

David Moyes - 18/1

Ashley Cole, Gary Rowett, and Slaven Bilic - 20/1

Ryan Lowe - 25/1

John Terry - 33/1

Claude Makelele, Nicky Butt, and Roy Keane - 40/1