Next Swansea City Manager Odds: After Luke Williams

We might as well kick off our Swansea next manager chat with the man who currently finds himself in the dugout, Alan Sheehan. Outside of caretaker roles, both at Swansea, Sheehan, 38, is yet to dip his toes into the world of football management and, as such, it would be a bold move for the club to give him the job on a full-time basis.

If, however, that does happen this summer then it’s a move that would be largely well received by the fanbase with the majority taking to the former Luton left back. Of course, winning over half of his games in charge has helped with that goodwill and how the Swans end the campaign could further influence the feeling towards him.

The lack of experience as a number one does likely come into play here though, particularly with changes in the boardroom having been announced in recent days. We’re not saying Sheehan is an impossible appointment but it feels like a back up plan to missing out on preferred candidates as opposed to Sheehan being “the man”.

Rewind to the days immediately after Williams’ sacking and Des Buckingham was one of the standout names mentioned in connection with the vacancy. Fast forward a couple of months and the chatter isn’t going away, which would suggest there is almost definitely an interest from one or both parties.

Buckingham’s managerial journey is a really interesting one with spells in three different countries before arriving at Oxford in November 2023. With the Yellows, the 40-year-old earned promotion into the Championship before making a solid start to life in the second tier prior to being harshly sacked just before Christmas, much to the outrage of Oxford fans.

Buckingham would probably snap your hand off for another crack at Championship level and, such is his reputation as a young coach in the game, his name is one that would garner some attention without whipping up a media frenzy.

Swansea’s recently appointed Sporting Director, Richard Montague, has made little secret of his desire to bring in a manager that has a strong philosophy with an appetite to play possession based football. When we hear that, we see Russell Martin. Martin lost his job as Southampton manager in December for being too wedded to that exact style of football.

There is an obvious link between the club and Martin too because he used to manage the Swans before leaving them for Southampton. With the club having progressed under Martin’s tutelage whilst playing good football and also getting the better of their bitter rivals, Cardiff, it’s fair to say the fans would love such an appointment.

Whether or not Martin could be convinced for another crack in South Wales though remains to be seen. What alternative offers come his way could be a key factor in his decision making and a Premier League job certainly won’t be on the menu so, stretching as it may seem, a return isn’t impossible.

Eric Ramsay has already denied having eyes on the Swansea job, which obviously dampens the chance of him suddenly being named their new manager but words are cheap in football and you can make a very strong case for Ramsay being a great fit for Swansea, and vice-versa.

Ramsay, 33, started his coaching journey within the Swansea academy setup whilst also boasting some big connections in the English game having also enjoyed spells at Chelsea and Manchester United.

With the early signs of his first managerial job, in the MLS for Minnesota, being positive ones, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him fast-tracked into the English game given his pedigree, connections and the ceiling many believe he has as an up and coming coach.