Wycombe Wanderers have confirmed that the club have parted ways with manager Michael Duff after less than a year in charge.
The 48-year-old was hired in September of 2025 and oversaw an inconsistent season at Adams Park, guiding Wycombe to an 11th placed finish in League One.
The Chairboys have made a poor start to the 2026/27 campaign too, losing three and drawing two of their opening five third tier fixtures -- including a 5-1 defeat to Stockport County at Edgeley Park on 29th August.
In spite of Wycombe's underwhelming start, the club are receiving backlash on social media for Duff's dismissal, with fans implying that the Northern Irishman deserves more time following the summer transfer window.
We take a look at the potential candidates to succeed Duff in the Wycombe dugout.
Matt Bloomfield
While Matt Bloomfield is judged by some for his more recent underwhelming spells with Luton Town and Oxford United, it was at Wycombe where the manager earned the credentials to put himself in line for Championship jobs.
A club legend for the Chairboys during his professional playing days -- where he made over 500 appearances in his 19-year stay -- Bloomfield returned to Adams Park to take on a managerial role following Gareth Ainsworth's exit in February 2023.
Bloomfield oversaw a solid 10th placed finish in his only full season at Wycombe -- in the 2023/24 campaign -- and was enjoying a fruitful 2024/25 term before being poached by then Championship side Luton.
The 42-year-old has been out of work since being sacked by Oxford following the club's relegation from the Championship, and he could prove a culturally fitting appointment at Wycombe given his deep ties to the club.
Dave Challinor
You'd suspect that it won't be long before out-of-form EFL clubs start looking in the direction of Dave Challinor, and Wycombe would be naive not to given his success at Stcokport County.
Challinor enjoyed a remarkable spell at Edgeley Park, where he took the club from the National League to the third division of English football in just three seasons.
The Englishman had Stockport pushing for promotion immediately upon their return to League One -- finishing third in 2024/25 -- and he and the club mutually parted ways after crashing out of the play-off semi-finals for a second successive season in 2025/26.
With a promotion record as strong as Challinor's, he would be a shrewd and ambitious appointment for Wycombe as they look to end their six-year stay in League One.
Gary Rowett
Similarly to Bloomfield, Gary Rowett's reputation has taken a sizeable hit following spells with Oxford United and Leicester City.
Leicester's struggles before and after Rowett suggest that he wasn't the sole issue at the King Power Stadium however, and he'll no doubt be keen to regain his footing in the managerial scene.
Remarkably, of the 599 games that he has managed across stints for numerous EFL outfits, Rowett has never managed a game in League One, making the considerable jump from League Two to the Championship when trading Burton Albion for Birmingham City in 2014.
Rowett is renowned for being pragmatic and well-organised, and both attributes are sorely needed at Wycombe following a turbulent start to the season.
Karl Robinson
Karl Robinson had a near 12-month break from management after his five-year spell with Oxford United concluded in February 2023, but he returned to the scene when being appointed at Salford City in January 2024.
Robinson steadied the ship at Moor Lane during the 2023/24 campaign and steered the club back into the top half of the League Two standings in 2024/25.
A mass improvement last campaign saw the Ammies finish fourth in League Two, but Robinson was sacked by the club after a 3-0 play-off final defeat to Notts County.
The manager boasts experience in abundance and could help reinstate a front-footed ideology at Adams Park, though it's not yet known as to whether his ties with Oxford would perhaps obstruct a move.
