Sporting Life’s Sky Bet Championship expert Noel Whelan has urged Reading to act now and make Slavisa Jokanovic their new manager.
The Royals are currently on the lookout for a new boss after sacking Paul Clement last week, following a poor start to the season which has left them in the bottom three.
The Serbian, who has two second-tier promotions on his CV, is currently out of work after leaving Premier League side Fulham last month and can be backed at 22/1 with Sky Bet to be Reading's next permanent appointment.
Speaking on the Sky Bet Championship Podcast, former Leeds and Middlesbrough striker Noel Whelan said of potential candidates: “On the foreign side, [I’d go for] Slavisa Jokanovic.
“He left Fulham, did a fantastic job and is a great manager who is out of work right now. He knows how to get the best out of players, plays the right way and knows the division very, very well from his time at Fulham."
Whelan continued: “Other clubs have been wanting Jokanovic since he was at Fulham, now he is available it is a great opportunity for Reading to get a real experienced, fantastic manager in.
“On the English side, I’d have thought Steve Bruce would be up there – out of a job, knows the Championship very well.”
Sporting Life tipster and Sky Bet EFL expert Tom Carnduff, however, feels Phil Parkinson is the perfect candidate for the hot seat.
Parkinson (above), 51 and currently in charge at Bolton, is a cult hero in Berkshire after making nearly 400 appearances in a Royals shirt and he is the current odds-on favourite to succeed Clement.
“It’s a job that fits him,” Carnduff said.
He went on: “The standing he has with the club already. He has done incredibly well with Bolton in their current situation. It’s a job that suits him and the short term [goal] is about getting them out of trouble, he is someone who will come in and do that.”
- Watch the video in full below, as Gareth Jones, Noel Whelan and Tom Carnduff discuss Paul Clement’s Reading departure, potential candidates, the managerial merry-go-round and more…
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Hear more from Noel Whelan, Gareth Jones and Tom Carnduff on the latest Sky Bet Championship Podcast - click the image below to find out how to listen...
Odds correct as of 1100 GMT on 12/12/18
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