Next Norwich manager contenders after Johannes Hoff Thorup sacking

After Norwich placed Jack Wilshere in temporary charge following the sacking of Johannes Hoff Thorup, we look at who could take permanent charge of the Canaries.

Sporting director Ben Knapper said that while Wilshere will go on to be an excellent head coach, it wouldn't be at Carrow Road, with the club looking further afield for their next appointment.

Potential next Norwich managers

Ralph Hasenhuttl

It’s unclear whether Ralph Hasenhuttl would make the step down into England’s second tier, but the Austrian could be a real coup for the Canaries.

Hasenhuttl made his name as a manager with RB Leipzig before joining Southampton in December 2018. In his four-year tenure he took the Saints from the relegation zone to a solid mid-table outfit playing an attractive brand of football.

A string of poor results, however, saw Hasenhuttl sacked. After 18 months out of work, Hasenhuttl joined Wolfsburg and steered them from safety but has been dismissed again.

He hasn’t managed in the Championship, but did enjoy a successful spell with Southampton, and a number of second-tier clubs could do a lot worse.

Gary O'Neil

Still relatively inexperienced, Gary O’Neil only has 100 matches in the dugout to his name, and while he’s not done himself a disservice in either, both of his previous employers looked a bit too big for him by the end.

O’Neil impressed in his first job at Bournemouth but was replaced by the superior Andoni Iraola, where O’Neil was a victim of circumstance more than anything else. He earned himself the Wolves job and despite a respectable first campaign at Molineux, the side were very much embroiled in a relegation battle and a change in management was required, with Vitor Pereira turning the side around.

But that’s not to say O’Neil couldn’t do a job at Carrow Road, where he spent two years as a player.

Premier League clubs are unlikely to take a punt in the short term on O’Neil, who appeared to hit a ceiling there, but if he is looking for a return to management over the summer, Norwich may be an ideal fit.

Russell Martin

Despite his beleaguered Southampton side getting weekly hidings, Russell Martin's managerial stock seems to have remained in tact. His style of play wasn't suitable for the Premier League where he was against vastly superior opposition, but if Norwich can strengthen the squad sufficiently, there's every reason to believe Martin can take the Canaries up.

Martin earned plenty of plaudits for his work at Swansea, earning him a crack at the Southampton job where promotion was the goal. Although having to go through the play-offs, Southampton did indeed return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Martin will have plenty of offers elsewhere however with Leicester likely to present a more attractive proposal - if they do indeed decide to go in that direction - but the 39-year-old would be a shrewd appointment for any ambitious Championship side.