Next Bristol City manager odds: Gerhard Struber new betting favourite for Robins job

Gerhard Struber is the new favourite to be the next manager of Bristol City, who are on the hunt for a new manager after Liam Manning left the club to become the new boss of Norwich City.

Manning had taken over at Ashton Gate in November 2023 and guided the Robins into this season’s Championship play-offs, finishing sixth in the regular season before a disappointing 6-0 aggregate loss to Sheffield United in the semi-finals.

Norwich were willing to pay the Robins a sum to secure Manning’s services after their own 13th-placed finish last season, but Bristol fans will be wondering where that leaves them ahead of the 2025/26 season starting in August.

The City board will be eager to secure a new manager as soon as possible with pre-season preparations set to get underway later this month, so we’ve taken a look at the leading contenders on betting sites to take over the mantle at Ashton Gate.

Former Barnsley boss Struber has emerged as the new favourite to replace Manning at Ashton Gate, three years after leaving Oakwell.

The Austrian spent just one season in South Yorkshire after keeping them in the Championship, despite being bottom of the league and seven points from safety when he took over.

He left the club in October 2020, when he was named head coach of New York Red Bulls, and has since managed Red Bull Salzburg before most recently managing Cologne.

However, he was sacked in May with the team in the automatic promotion places with just two games to go.

They eventually got promoted back to the Bundesliga and now betting sites are offering just 2/1 on Struber returning to English football as the new boss of Bristol City.

Former Luton Town manager Rob Edwards was previously the joint favourite for the role, with the 42-year-old having been sacked in January after a run of defeats in the Championship.

Though the Hatters ended up getting relegated, Edwards’ reputation is still solid having guided Luton to an unlikely promotion to the Premier League in 2023 and he’s currently a coach in demand with bookmakers making him a strong candidate in the next Middlesbrough manager odds too.

Edwards is more favoured than Richie Wellens, who is now 3/1 on football betting sites to take the Bristol job.

Wellens took Leyton Orient to the League 1 play-off final last season, though the defeat to Charlton coupled with the loss of several key players could prompt him to leave Brisbane Road.

Neil Warnock has made a surprise appearance in the list, popping up at 8/1 to return to management for the first time since leaving Aberdeen in March 2024.

The fact he lives down in Cornwall might make the job an attractive one if he is to enjoy one last hurrah.

The Englishman is among four former Premier League managers who are supposedly in the running, with ex-Wolves manager Gary O’Neil at 20/1 and former Leicester and Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper offered at 16/1.

Several managers from teams and divisions below Bristol City are in the running for the Ashton Gate hotseat, led by Wellens.

Former Notts County and Swansea City boss Luke Williams has been touted at 8/1, though his name has appeared infrequently in local press and he has been out of work since leaving the Swans in February.

Stockport manager Dave Challinor is another 8/1 candidate as it stands, with the 49-year-old leading his side to the League One play-offs last season, having taken them from non-league football in three seasons.

Within the Championship, John Mousinho is another name that has popped up, with the 39-year-old Englishman offered at 16/1 on some betting apps having attracted interest after managing to keep Portsmouth in the division after their promotion the season beforehand.

It is seen as unlikely that either O’Neil or Cooper will join the Robins, with the latter having expressed an interest in working abroad and O’Neil out of work since leaving Wolves in December.

Marti Cifuentes and Ruben Selles are the two bosses with Championship experience who are seen as outside shouts for the job, with the former priced at 16/1 and Selles at 20/1.

Cifuentes is currently on gardening leave after guiding QPR to 15th last season, and while he was supposedly on the shortlist to take over as West Brom manager, former Spurs midfielder Ryan Mason has now taken over at the Hawthorns.

As for Selles, he presumably did not instil much confidence in prospective suitors when he was sacked by Hull having almost fallen to relegation.

That leaves one other candidate at 20/1 – former Norwich caretaker boss Jack Wilshere.

The ex-England and Arsenal midfielder took charge of the Canaries for the final matches of the season but left the club after being informed that he wasn't being considered for the full-time job, and despite plenty of time as an assistant, it may be seen as too much of a jump to give someone so inexperienced a top role at this stage in his career.

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