Who will be Burnley FC’s new manager?

The Guardian Rumour Mill blog places “the zesty former Hull intellectual, Phil Brown” as a “shoo-in” for the job. It goes on “with his unique brand of philosophical musings, comedic timing and all-round warmth, Brown is just the man to lead Burnley back into the big time. That, or crack under the pressure, take to draping a salmon-pink jumper around his shoulders, hold pre-match, half-time and full-time team-talks out on the pitch, quite rightly criticise Cesc Fábregas’s fashion sense and stop women from jumping off bridges. Who knows?

“Anyway, Burnley are advised to move fast if they want Brown, because there could well be a vacancy at Liverpool soon.”

Elsewhere, The Guardian notes Brown “has emerged as a strong favourite” to succeed Laws at Burnley and insisted he could be named as the new manager today, although it is also rumoured that Preston North End are vying for the “extrovert” manager’s attention. The Guardian concludes that Brown;s appointment would represent “a significant strategic sea change on the part of a Burnley board who appointed the low-key Laws largely because a Deloitte report had highlighted that, during his time in charge of Sheffield Wednesday, he boasted an outstanding results-to-budget ratio.”

The Daily Mail, meanwhile, cites Phil Brown as being on the shortlist to step into Laws’ shoes and adds tLaws could be considering a move to rivals Preston North End, who yesterday also ditched manager Darren Ferguson. It goes on that Stuart Gray has been appointed caretaker boss but Bournemouth’s Eddie Howe is “the leading contender” with Sean O’Driscoll and Gary Megson also in the running.

Vital Football reported online that AFC Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has been installed as “the 5/6 favourite with bookmaker Victor Chandler” to take over at Burnley although he is contracted at Dean Court until 2013. It further reports that Plymouth Argyle manager Peter Reid is in the running for both the Preston and Burnley vacancies according to bookmakers, quoting him at 66-1 for the Burnley post and Phil Brown as favourite.