It is the question on the lips of all Cardiff fans: who will be their manager for their first League One campaign in over 20 years?

With reports out of the Cardiff City Stadium suggesting that the interview process for the next permanent Cardiff City manager has now concluded, it is expected that the club will announce who will be in the dugout next season imminently.

Who are in contention for the job? Let’s assess the runners and riders:

Des Buckingham

Buckingham is name that not a whole lot of Cardiff fans will immediately recognise, due to his lack of playing career and time spent coaching in English football, but a closer look at his CV reveals a modern coach with excellent experience.

The 40-year-old starting his coaching journey at the age of just 18 at hometown club Oxford United, before landing his first senior first team coaching role at Wellington Phoenix in New Zealand.

Buckingham then took roles in the youth international teams at New Zealand, before becoming a part of the highly regarded City Group coaching stable, initially as an assistant coach at Melbourne City and then head coach of Mumbai City.

In 2023, he returned to Oxford United as head coach, leading the club to promotion to the Championship in his first season. To the surprise of many, he was sacked in December 2024 after a middling start to this season.

Buckingham is a progressive coach and used to working with younger players, something that would fit in will with the current Cardiff squad.

Nathan Jones

Jones has had two high-profile managerial ‘failures’ that seem to have dented his reputation far more than his successes. His spells at Stoke City and Southampton were poor, but the work that he has done at Luton Town and more recently with Charlton Athletic have been excellent.

During a three year spell at Luton, Jones laid the foundations for the club’s remarkable raise from League Two to the Premier League, earning promotion from the former in 2018. He also earnt the EFL Championship manager of the season award for the 2021/22 season during his second spell at Kenilworth Road.

More recently, Jones took Charlton back into the Championship via the play-offs.

A Cardiff City fan and former academy player, Jones would be a popular appointment and his emotional reactions in the dugout will endear him to the fans. Whether the club can afford to buy him out of his contract at Charlton is a different matter.

Brian Barry-Murphy

The current bookies favourite, Barry-Murphy is another on this list who has been a part of the City Group, having been manager of the Manchester City development squad from 2021 to 2024.

For the last season, Barry-Murphy has been a part of Leicester City’s first team coaching staff and has League One managerial experience with Rochdale from 2019-2021.

He is another candidate with plenty of coaching experience with young players, as well as lower-league EFL players.

Ian Evatt

Evatt is perhaps the most gettable option on the list. The 43-year-old former Blackpool defender is currently without a club after leaving Bolton Wanderers in January by mutual consent.

Evatt’s five-year tenure at the Toughsheet Community Stadium was undoubtedly a successful one. Lifting the club out of the depths of League Two in his first season, he also lead the club to EFL Trophy glory in 2023.

Evatt’s teams play attractive, proactive football but his failure to lift Bolton into the Championship despite significant financial backing does leave a question mark next to his name.

Ruben Selles

A man who was not on the radar for Cardiff until his sacking at Hull City last month, Selles has earned the most praise for his work with Reading during their crisis period.

Selles coached Reading admirably in League One and is a flexible coaching with experience in the English pyramid. However, he may not want to step down to League One again, and instead wait for a Championship level job.

Aaron Ramsey

The last and perhaps least likely name on this list is current Wales captain Aaron Ramsey.

Despite maintaining that his full focus is on reaching the 2026 World Cup with is country, the 34-year-old hinted at a u-turn after Cardiff’s relegation was confirmed.

It would be a highly risky move to appoint a complete managerial novice to lead Cardiff out of League One, but Ramsey’s connection to the club far out strips anyone on this list, even Nathan Jones.

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