Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink among Doncaster Rovers candidates after Gary McSheffrey is sacked

McSheffrey paid the price for a poor run of autumnal form on Monday morning, with the 40-year-old sacked after a run of five league losses in eight matches - with Rovers languishing in mid-table.

After initial interviews on Tuesday, follow-up meetings with the candidates who impress will take place on Wednesday.

Former Leeds United and Middlesbrough player Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink, who was interviewed for the vacant Barnsley job in the summer before pulling out of the race, is a candidate for the position, The Yorkshire Post understands.

Ex-Hull City and Sheffield United chief Nigel Adkins is also among the frontrunners in the betting alongside Graham Alexander, David Artell and Jonathan Woodgate, who has spent spells in management at Bournemouth and Middlesbrough.

Intriguingly, ex-Rovers manager Darren Ferguson has also been linked with the vacancy alongside one-time Doncaster captain Graeme Lee and another former player in Sam Hird, currently first-team coach at Bolton.

The departure of McSheffrey takes the number of departures at Yorkshire clubs so far in 2022-23 to five - with exactly half of the county's EFL clubs having seen managerial changes already this term.

The South Yorkshire club are now looking for their sixth permanent manager/head coach since June 2018.

Speaking recently, CEO Gavin Baldwin said the club's board would be ‘disappointed’ if they are not in contention for promotion at the end of the season with Rovers understood to have one of the biggest budgets in the division.

Assistant manager Steve Eyre has also left the club.

Chairman David Blunt said: “While results so far in League Two have been largely positive, there has been a growing concern over the standard of performances in matches and a lack of progress between games.“We feel this is threatening our ability to achieve our stated goals for the season.

“We have also been disappointed that our wishes for a particular style of play and overall identity, which were clearly laid out over the summer, have not been brought into effect in competitive matches.

“These factors have combined to lead us to take this difficult decision to relieve Gary and Steve of their posts. We are confident the squad that has been assembled is more than capable of challenging for promotion with an entertaining and attacking approach, and have reached a consensus that change is required in order to ensure we have the best chance of doing so.”

“The process of securing a replacement is already well underway and we are hopeful for a swift resolution to our recruitment process. We expect to conclude interviews this week with an appointment to be made soon afterwards."

Head professional development phase coach Chad Gribble and youth development phase transition coach Paul Green will oversee first team training until a new appointment has been made.