Swansea City next manager odds: Ex-Spurs midfielder a tempting 5/1

Former Swansea City manager Luke Williams was dismissed earlier this week, after a poor run of results had seen the Swans be dragged into a relegation scrap that has severely threatened their safety in the second tier. 

The 43-year-old Englishman had been in charge of the Wales-based club since the start of 2024. During that time, Williams took charge of 58 games, winning only 19 of them, and averaging only 1.17 points per match. Further to this, he had almost a 50% loss rate, having been defeated 28 times in over a year at the Liberty Stadium.

Having been the assistant to Russell Martin during his managerial stint at Swansea in 2021, it came as a surprise to many that Williams struggled so much to adapt to the pace of the second tier. He had most recently been manager of Notts County, seeing them back into the Football League with promotion via the play-offs in the National League, with his team scoring a staggering 117 times.

He left the club with County sat in fifth place in League Two, having bagged the most goals across all of England's top four league with 55. Given this was only in January 2024, it was an incredibly impressive record.

However, upon joining Swansea, things never seemed to click, and so Williams was given his marching orders. Now, multiple managers are ready to take charge of the relegation-troubled side, with former Oxford United boss Des Buckingham heading up the chase.

Current favourites

Des Buckingham – 5/2

Now rooted in the club's history as the man who saw Oxford into the second tier for the first time in 25 years, Des Buckingham was sadly dismissed by the U's after a poor run of form before Christmas saw them battling relegation.

Having targeted Championship survival as their pre-season ambition, the hierarchy felt it was time for a change with Oxford sat in 20th place in the second tier. However, having so recently been enshrined in the team's history, the decision to dismiss Buckingham shocked and upset a great swathe of supporters.

The 40-year-old Englishman had previously been the head coach of Mumbai City FC, taking charge of 71 games between 2021 and 2023, averaging a fairly good 1.73 points per game. Although he was unable to repeat this at the Kassam Stadium, having lost 23 of his 59 matches in charge, the club's play-off final victory against Bolton Wanderers will still live long in fans' memories.

Now potentially targeting a return to the second tier, Buckingham would find himself merely one point behind his former club were he to take over at the Liberty Stadium. At 5/2, he can still provide good value for punters as well, who should consider the positive impact on his reputation at this level were he to succeed at Swansea.

Ryan Mason – 5/1

Although certainly being priced as an outsider, former Tottenham and Hull City midfielder Ryan Mason has been locked in at 5/1 to take over at Swansea. Having twice been appointed interim manager of his boyhood club, the position in Wales would be Mason's first taste of being a head coach, as he has previously managed just 13 games.

There were rumours that the Englishman would be given the manager position at Tottenham after his first stint heading up the team, as he managed four wins from seven games. Although they lost the EFL Cup final to Manchester City in only Mason's second game in charge, he impressed in general with his handling of the situation.

However, the role was eventually given to Nuno Espirito Santo, who was dismissed just three months into his contract after a dismal start to the 2021/22 season.

Now looking to secure his first ever head coach role, 5/1 odds on the former England international could provide a great return on investment for punters.

Alan Sheehan – 7/1

Current interim boss Alan Sheehan has been given 7/1 odds of being given the Swansea job permanently. However, we feel that this would be a very unlikely choice given the current circumstances.

Although Sheehan has been both caretaker and interim manager of the Swans, he too has no permanent managerial experience, and lacks the pedigree to be able to bring the club away from the relegation zone with the full confidence of the board.

Despite this being a move that could potentially make sense were he to perform well in a temporary capacity, it seems improbably that the club would take such a leap of faith at one of the most crucial times in their recent history.

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