On Sunday night, Steve McClaren was sacked as manager of Derby County for the second time following a poor run of form that is likely to see them miss out on a place in the Championship play-off positions.
Six points from their last nine fixtures proved to be a fatal set of results for McClaren, who was dismissed with the Rams lying in 10th place in the table, and ten points behind sixth-placed Sheffield Wednesday with nine matches of the season remaining.
Incredibly, if a new boss is appointed this week, his first match in charge will come away at arch-rivals Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
If the rumours on Monday morning are to be believed, then it might just be the case with a number of media outlets, including the BBC, saying that the club are closing in on the appointment of former Birmingham City manager Gary Rowett (at the time of writing).
Here are five reasons Rowett is the right replacement for Steve McClaren…
He knows the club and area
Rowett certainly has many things going for him as a manager, but the fact that he has played for the Rams – making 120 appearances in all competitions during a spell from 1995-98 – is certainly an advantage.
As a result, he will know what is required by the club, and will already have the supporters on side.
He also knows the local area well having lived there during previous management spells with Birmingham City and Burton Albion.
His record with Birmingham and Burton
It is hard not to be impressed with Rowett’s record at the two previous clubs he managed.
Rowett left Burton with a win percentage of 44.4% – and arguably started the Brewers’ journey up to the Championship as his twice went close to promotion from League Two – while his win percentage of 39.6% at St Andrew’s was equally impressive considering some of the constraints he was working with.
The facts are that the 43-year-old joined the Blues in 2014 shortly after they were thrashed 8-0 at home by Bournemouth, and was sacked with them just three points behind third-placed Reading in December 2016.
It’s perhaps also telling that the club now lie 17th in the table, just six points above the relegation zone.
Championship experience
After just over two years in charge at St Andrew’s, Rowett has shown that he has the knowledge to know what is needed to create a competitive side in England’s second tier.
He led the team from 21st to a 10th-placed finish in his first season at the helm, and looked on course to secure another top half finish for the club when he was sacked with the Blues lying in seventh position in December.
Knows how to get the best out of his squad
Rowett quickly turned a group of players that were struggling at the wrong end of the Championship to top-half – and then play-off – contenders within two years.
There is no doubt that signings such as Tomasz Kuszczak, Michael Morrison, Ryan Shotton and Jacques Maghoma were playing at a level that was perhaps above their usual ability under the 43-year-old earlier in the campaign, but this was the nucleus of a side that was pushing for a spot in the top six, and have dropped like a stone since his departure.
He can work on a budget, if needed
While he had more funds towards the end of his managerial spell with Birmingham City, Rowett showed that he could work effectively on a budget too at St Andrew’s.
This might not be an issue at a club the size of Derby County, but the Rams board will have been impressed how he made players such as Clayton Donaldson – who arrived on a free transfer the summer before Rowett joined – key men in his side, meanning that huge amounts of money didn’t need to be spent in the transfer market.