Barnsley FC manager search: A closer look at candidates Michael Duff, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Manchester United set piece coach Eric Ramsay

Cheltenham Town manager Michael Duff, who yesterday was given permission to speak to Championship side Blackpool, Burton Albion boss Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Manchester United set piece coach Eric Ramsay are the three men who have been publicly linked to the vacancy at Oakwell.

It appears Barnsley are stepping away from their recent position of appointing managers from abroad with all three candidates managing or coaching in England.

A couple of other candidates are being targeted for the job but their names have yet to be confirmed while Neil Warnock - who announced his retirement earlier this year - has also been linked to the position.

Below, we have taken a look at the playing and managerial experience of Duff, Hasselbaink and Ramsay, as the Tykes aim to get a new head coach at the helm before the club's players return for pre-season training.

Michael Duff

The 44-year-old was born in Belfast but grew up in North Yorkshire before going on to make over 600 appearances for Cheltenham Town and Burnley between 1996 and 2016.

He played predominantly as a central defender and claimed 23 career goals.

He earned 24 international caps for Northern Ireland. He was a late substitute when the Green and White Army beat England at Windsor Park and played the full 90 minutes a year later when Northern Ireland defeated Spain 3-2.

Duff moved into management with Cheltenham in 2018. In November 2019, he signed a deal at the club which kept him under contract until 2023.

In the 2020-21 campaign, he led Cheltenham to their first-ever automatic promotion in the EFL and was named League Two manager of the season. As a manager he has won 82 of 203 games, drawing 60 and losing 61.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink

The Burton boss is a well-known name in English football, having enjoyed spells as a player at Leeds United, Chelsea, Middlesbrough, Charlton Athletic and Cardiff City. He also played abroad at the likes of Atletico Madrid and AZ Alkmaar.

The 50-year-old was born in Paramaribo, Suriname and moved to the Netherlands at the age of six. He went on to earn 23 international caps for Holland, scoring nine goals.

In his club career, he was part of the Middlesbrough side that reached the 2006 Europa League, then called the UEFA Cup, final. He also reached the FA Cup final with Chelsea and Cardiff City and the Copa Del Rey final with Atletico. He scored 249 goals in 468 club appearances.

Hasselbaink has had five spells in management with four clubs. He took his first coaching job at Royal Antwerp in 2013 before moving to Burton.

He left Burton to manage QPR and Northampton but returned to the Brewers in January 2021. As a manager he has won 97 of 253 games, losing 86 and drawing 70.

Eric Ramsay

The Manchester United coach worked in the academies at Swansea City and Shrewsbury Town after graduating from Loughborough University with a degree in sports science.

He has worked as an assistant coach for Chelsea's Under-23 side. While at Shrewsbury he also worked as a first-team coach and was even interim manager for a short spell before joining Chelsea in the summer of 2019.

When he gained a UEFA Pro Licence badge in 2019, he became one of the youngest coaches to do so. The 30-year-old joined Manchester United's coaching set up as a set-piece coach in July 2021.