Former Bristol City manager Dean Holden is in the running to take charge at Championship rivals Blackpool, according to reports.
Blackpool have been left without a manager after the surprise exit of Neil Critchley last week. He has joined Steven Gerrard's coaching staff at Aston Villa after his right-hand man Michael Beale left to take charge at Queens Park Rangers.
The Tangerines are hunting for a new boss as a result, with Bolton Wanderers boss Ian Evatt – a Bloomfield Road favourite in his playing days – the early bookmakers' favourite.
TalkSport's Alex Crook reports Holden and Cheltenham Town manager Michael Duff are also under consideration for Blackpool, with there focus on hiring an "up-and-coming" manager in a similar mould to Critchley, who led the club to promotion to the Championship after joining from Liverpool's under-23s.
Holden spent four years on the coaching staff at Ashton Gate under Lee Johnson's management before emerging as a surprise contender for the head coach role after Johnson's sacking.
After a long recruitment process, the former Oldham Athletic and Peterborough United defender was appointed in the summer of 2020 and made a flying start, taking maximum points from his first four games in charge.
As the months went by, City's form started to dip and Holden would lose his job in February 2021 after six successive defeats, replaced by Nigel Pearson a few days later.
Holden was quickly back in work, joining Michael O'Neill's backroom staff at Stoke City, but a managerial role is sure to tempt the former Robins boss.
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