Swansea City urged to avoid appointing 36-year-old with "foreign market" idea mooted | OneFootball

FLW's Swansea City pundit gives his take on the rumoured interest in Hibernian's David Gray.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Swansea City's managerial search has taken another twist, with the club now targeting Hibernian boss David Gray.

This is according to journalist Alan Nixon reporting via Patreon on Wednesday.

It has now been just over two weeks since Luke Williams was sacked and interim head coach, Alan Sheehan, has had an ideal start to life with four points from his opening two games against Blackburn Rovers and Preston North End.

However, it remains to be seen whether they will consider appointing Sheehan until the end of the season and Gray is certainly a promising candidate.

The 36-year-old has guided Hibs to third place in the Scottish Premiership, with the team currently enjoying a 13-game unbeaten run. This impressive streak includes a draw against Rangers and a victory over runaway leaders Celtic.

Swansea pundit unsure on David Gray

According to Nixon, a move to the EFL would be an appealing prospect for the Hibernian manager. However, do Swansea supporters share the same view? Football League World spoke to their resident Jack, Will Hughes, to find out.

"I don't know too much about David Gray, apart from the fact he is the Hibs manager," said Hughes.

"The search for a manager has gone quiet with us. It seems that the board and those in charge are willing to take as much time as they can in finding the right appointment, which I have no problem with. I have no problem with Alan Sheehan having the job until the end of the season if it means we get a good replacement. I would rather that than a cheap option or someone who is out of work just to appease the fans by having a manager.

"In terms of Gray, I have only looked at stats for his Hibs side and how he sets up. I couldn't say whether he would be a good appointment because I haven't watched much of Hibs, and I would rather watch a team and see how they play rather than go off stats.

"He likes to play a back three, with wing-backs and two strikers. We have played a back three in the past under the likes of Steve Cooper, and it worked well under Russell Martin at times. But I look at the likes of Michael Duff and Luke Williams, and the back three for them didn't work very well.

"If he was to come in, you would think they would bring in players to suit his style. But whoever comes in has to do that – a squad overhaul is required. Regardless of who comes in, there are a lot of players who aren't good enough.

"If we want to get away from trouble next year, we need to spend a lot of money."

Swansea pundit outlines his ideal head coach

Following his comments on Gray, Hughes outlined what he is looking for in a potential new head coach.

Speaking on the matter, he said: "We want to keep the baseline, which is attacking possession football because that is what has made us so successful over the last 20 years.

"Unfortunately, in the last couple of years, it has moved away from that because the people in charge of the club have brought in managers who focus solely on possession. But that has never been the Swansea way.

"I think back to the days of Brendan Rodgers, Michael Laudrup, even Roberto Martínez – that was prime Swansea City. We kept the ball and flooded forward when we could, with quick wingers, clinical strikers, technical midfielders, and strong defenders.

"That is a lot to ask for, but if we can get a manager who keeps the ball while making us exciting and much more dynamic – progressive passing football, possession with a purpose.

"I have previously mentioned the managers I would like. Whether we get them is another question, but I definitely think we need to be looking in the foreign market rather than on UK soil. We haven't had much success in our last two appointments from the lower leagues with Michael Duff and Luke Williams.