Bristol Rovers and Rotherham United should definitely have League Two manager on their radar: View | OneFootball

Highlights

As per usual in most EFL seasons, there is a handful of managerial vacancies despite the 2023-24 campaign not even being halfway through yet.

And two of those are potentially exciting opportunities not just for veterans of the game, but for young, up-and-coming coaches as the managerial jobs at both Rotherham United and Bristol Rovers are up for grabs.

The Millers decided to sack Matt Taylor earlier this week after 13 months in charge at the New York Stadium, with United struggling in the Championship with just two wins from their first 16 matches.

Rovers meanwhile dispensed of the services of Joey Barton over three weeks ago now, bringing his two-and-a-half year stint at the Memorial Stadium to a close.

There has been plenty of names linked with both of the vacancies, as you would expect for two exciting jobs, but one that has perhaps surprisingly not cropped up but who should really be looked at is that of Pete Wild.

Wild did not have the traditional route into full-time coaching or management, with his first job being in the sports department of Oldham Council - his first football club role though was within the Oldham Athletic youth system as a youth development coach.

He became the club's caretaker manager in early 2019, with one of his best results coming in the form of an away win in the FA Cup against Premier League outfit Fulham.

After a brief stint by Paul Scholes in the dugout at Boundary Park, Wild was named permanent Latics boss in March 2019, but he departed after just a couple of months and ended up heading for FC Halifax Town of the National League.

In his three seasons at the West Yorkshire outfit, Wild had the Shaymen finish sixth, 10th and fourth in the fifth tier of English football, which were vast improvements on their two years in the division before, and naturally he was a wanted man in 2022.

He then headed into League Two with Barrow, and a ninth-placed finish in just their third year back in the EFL, having only just survived the two seasons prior, was testament to Wild's abilities as a manager and coach.

As of writing, Barrow currently sit inside the play-off spots of League Two after 17 matches in sixth position, with the Cumbrians currently on a seven-match league unbeaten streak.

Still only 39 years of age as well, Wild has plenty of years left ahead of him, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him climb up the league before next season - whether that is with or without Barrow.

Which job would suit Pete Wild more?

The natural step up from his current role for Wild would be a League One job, and Bristol Rovers are a pretty exciting club with fresh ownership since the summer.

They have good attacking outlets such as Aaron Collins and Anthony Evans, whilst Chelsea loanee Harvey Vale is another attack-minded player currently either playing on the left-hand side of midfield or at left-back who should go on to bigger things.

However, Wild has been based in the north of England for all of his life, and taking a job at a southern club like Rovers would be very much jumping out of his comfort zone.

Rotherham however, whilst another level above, wouldn't be too far of a commute from Greater Manchester for Wild and they do have some good players who can be nurtured for a Championship survival battle, although his appointment would be very similar to that of Taylor's from October 2022.

Out of the two, Wild would probably be a better fit for Rotherham, and whilst he may not be on the radar of either club, the Barrow boss very much should be.