Bristol City are stepping up their search for their next head coach with the Championship season reaching its conclusion and the club close to being confirmed as playing in the English second tier next season.
Bristol Live understands that without knowing which league the Robins would be in - and with the play-offs being a possibility still - that the club has put off several big decisions, including who their main sponsors for next season will be (gambling firm Dunder or another) as well as the identity of the next head coach.
CEO Mark Ashton is leading a thorough recruitment process to find the club's next first team boss and a successor to Lee Johnson.
While no decision has yet been reached, the West Country outfit will now move towards making a new appointment over the next 10 days as the season draws to an end and all English clubs learn their fates.
City are keen to have a new man in place as soon as possible, with the short turnaround between this season and next, but have also been patient to see which division they would play in as well as who might also apply for the vacant post.
The Robins have been inundated with applications for the position (more than 80 so far), which include high profile names such as Chris Hughton - who is interested in the post at Ashton Gate but has also been linked with jobs elsewhere - and even former Bayer Leverkusen head coach Christoph Daum, who spoke to the German press last weekend to discuss the job in BS3.
Steven Gerrard is another contender, riding high with the bookies currently, and could be a high profile - if unlikely - appointment, as would be former Chelsea captain John Terry, if the Aston Villa assistant head coach is made available at the end of the campaign.
City have a shortlist in place and will soon decide on the next man as they begin to build for season 2020/21, which includes making decisions on several members of the senior playing squad, such as captain Korey Smith, Famara Diedhiou - who only has a year left to go on his current contract - as well as coveted winger Niclas Eliasson.
"We are entering a new chapter at this football club," wrote Ashton in the pre-Stoke City match programme.
"It is always challenging when you recruit a new manager or head coach and it is a process I have been through several times in my career.
"There has been interest nationally and from across the globe with regards to our next appointment, but we will not make a hasty decision for the sake of it.
"We know the type of head coach we are looking for and we look forward to announcing the right person for this job after completing a rigorous interview process," he explained.
City have a good relationship with the board room at Derby County and were impressed by the work of Frank Lampard last season, and ideally the club would find a similar coach to galvanise Bristol City, gain good results on the pitch, make the play-offs and develop young talent from the academy too.
Ashton and the Robins board are determined to make the right appointment to lead City into the Premier League though and the success of the proven Pat Lam and his Bristol Bears has shown that the right hire can lead to spectacular progress.
