Blackpool's League One rivals 'close' to appointing new manager as Swansea City men favourite

Blackpool's League One rivals Cambridge United are closing in on the appointment of their next manager, according to their interim head coach.

Barry Corr took the reins of the U's after Neil Harris departed the club last week. Harris had only joined them in December after being sacked by Gillingham but returned to his former club Millwall.

Corr has overseen two games since Harris left, losing 1-0 to Blackpool's play-off rivals Peterborough United and Stevenage. Cambridge face Bolton Wanderers this weekend and whilst the 38-year-old is expected to be in charge this weekend, and that an announcement could come within the next week.

In his pre-match interview with the Cambridge Independent, he said: "I have had a bit of an update from the club in that I think that the search is moving forward and getting to the later stages.

“The search is moving forward and getting to the latter stages. There are candidates that have been spoken to formally and it’s getting close to a decision.

“It’s probably a good thing. The players need that stability of someone here – that will help.

“I’d be really surprised if it weren’t further than the start of next week.”

Former Swansea City managers Garry Monk and Michael Duff are joint favourites for the position according to the bookmakers. BetVictor has Duff and Monk both at 5/2 with former Lincoln City boss Mark Kennedy slightly further out at 11/4.

Monk has not managed since getting sacked by Sheffield Wednesday in November 2020. The 44-year-old managed Swansea in the Premier League and would go on to manage Leeds United, Middlesbrough and Birmingham City, before ending up at Hillsborough.

Duff was manager of Swansea from the summer of 2023 to December with his time at the club brief after he was sacked amid a poor run of form. The 46-year-old played for Blackpool's Lancashire rivals Burnley from 2004 to 2016 and has been in management since 2016.

As for Mark Kennedy, he was dismissed by Lincoln, becoming the first manager to be sacked by them in nine years. Kennedy's previous managerial experience was with Macclesfield Town before they were relegated to National League.

Blackpool play Cambridge United at Bloomfield Road on Saturday, April 6.