Di Matteo and Nilsson stand out for next City boss

A largely unimaginative list of names make up the early odds for next Coventry City manager but two do stand out as potentially interesting appointments should the club look to go outside the box a little.

While caretaker boss Andy Thorn was installed as the early favourite, Roberto Di Matteo is as short as 4/1 in places and catches the eye immediately as being young, available and despite his sacking by West Brom, untainted by the kind of failure that many on the merry-go-round have.

Further down the list, Paul Tisdale and Paul Buckle have worked miracles in Devon with Exeter City and Torquay United respectively and deserve a shot at a higher level.

Most interesting candidate of all however is Roland Nilsson, priced as short as 16/1 and a man well known to City fans as a popular player and then player/manager at a time when the club was in turmoil off the field.

Nilsson steadied the ship well after Gordon Strachan’s departure and but for a late dip in form almost got the Sky Blues into the play-offs in their first season outside the top-flight.

That was some managerial baptism and since then Nilsson has been cutting his teeth back in his native Sweden, guiding Malmo to the 2010 Championship.