Ex-Leeds United coach made favourite for League One job after ex-Newcastle United and Rangers man sacked

A former Leeds United assistant is said to be likely to land a manager role further down the EFL pyramid. Bristol Rovers are searching for a new boss after parting ways with former Newcastle United, QPR and Rangers player Joey Barton recently.

Barton did a fine job at the Memorial Ground, leading Rovers to promotion back to the third tier and keeping them there last season with a bottom-half finish. Though, Rovers had bigger ambitions for this season, and having struggled early this season, once again hanging around the bottom half of the bottom half, Barton was sacked.

A number of managers have been linked, but it looks as though a former Leeds assistant is favourite for the job, with Karl Robinson odds-on favourite at this stage. Robinson was briefly a Whites assistant during Sam Allardyce's not-so-impressive short spell in charge at the end of last season.

Andy Mangana and former Cardiff and Millwall boss Neil Harris are lower down in the odds, as is Kevin Maher. Former Leeds boss Garry Monk is also on the list, albeit at a long 10/1 at this stage. Robinson has managed MK Dons, Charlton Athletic and Oxford United in the past.

Charlton was his most disappointing spell, but he managed two years and a 36.5% win percentage there, while his best spell came at MK Dons, leading them to promotion to the Championship. Robinson also spent as many as five years in charge of Oxford, amassing a win percentage of 40.1%. Ironically, he was sacked by Oxford back in February after losing to Barton's Rovers.

Speaking about how he ended up at Leeds at the end of last season, he told the YEP earlier this year: "I was playing golf, literally on the first hole and it was Sam [on the phone]. He went: "Do you want to go to Leeds?" I went: "What?" He said: "Get in the car, I'll meet you in Leeds tonight." I went: "What do you mean?" and he replied: "I'm going in, it's getting announced tomorrow."

"I made a few phone calls to a few people, we didn't even talk money, I just said don't worry I'll be there later on tonight. That's as detailed as the conversation went. I met [Sam] about 10 o'clock that night in a hotel, we went through the team, looked at the squad, looked at a few things. He told me Keano [Robbie Keane] was coming in tomorrow and asked me what I thought. I felt it was a great idea because of the affinity Robbie has with the fans, his history with Leeds and the Premier League."