Former Celtic boss Neil Lennon has been linked with the management vacancy at Portman Road.

According to the Daily Record, the former Northern Ireland international is believed to be on the shortlist at Town and is said to be excited about the role.

The 50-year-old, who has also spent time in charge at Bolton and Hibernian, is said to have spoken about the job with his one-time Bhoys team-mate Paul Lambert, who was in charge at Portman Road until March.

With Town unlikely to have a shortlist at this stage, CEO Mark Ashton having told TWTD on Monday that sifting through the candidates who have made their interest known would take place in the next 48 hours, the story would appear highly speculative.

Elsewhere, Ryan Lowe, who we understand was among the bosses to have caught the eye of the Town hierarchy over recent months, yesterday left Plymouth to join Preston as their new manager.

Betting-wise, former Waterford boss and ex-QPR midfielder Marc Bircham is now the favourite, at 5-4 on with one bookmaker, presumably due to him having been at last night’s game at Charlton. However, it’s understood little should be read into that.

Former Millwall manager Neil Harris, who was interesting Marcus Evans prior to the appointment of Paul Cook, is second at 2-1 with MK Dons head coach Liam Manning third, 8-1, and interim-manager John McGreal fourth at 12-1 alongside former Blues defender Frank Yallop, who is currently sporting director/head coach at USL side Monterey Bay.

Yallop previously worked at Arizona United, now Phoenix Rising, the club in which the Blues’ Three Lions are also investors and where Bircham spent a brief spell as assistant manager.

The former Canadian international is followed in the betting by Sunderland boss Lee Johnson, John Terry, Lincoln manager Michael Appleton, who previously worked with Ashton and Mike O’Leary at West Brom and Oxford, and Frank Lampard, all at 16-1.

Neil Warnock, former Newport boss Michael Flynn, ex-Norwich managers Alex Neil and Chris Hughton, Cambridge manager Mark Bonner, Oxford boss Karl Robinson, ex-Aberdeen and Bristol City manager Derek McInnes, recently sacked Charlton chief Nigel Adkins and Lennon are all at 25-1.

One name yet to appear in the betting but believed to be a potential candidate is Chelsea assistant head coach Anthony Barry, who cut his teeth as assistant to Paul Cook at Wigan before moving to Stamford Bridge in August 2020.

The 35-year-old also works part-time on Stephen Kenny’s Republic of Ireland coaching staff.

Photo: Action Images

buzbyblue added 10:07 - Dec 8 Dear God no, not the ginger whinger
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stopmoaning added 10:09 - Dec 8 No!
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ghostofescobar added 10:10 - Dec 8 My mate is a season ticket holder at Celtic and reckoned this would be a good job for him. I said I didn't think he come, but my mate thought he'd jump at it. He always rated him when he was at Celtic, but I guess he has a bit of the "legend" tag up there.
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Radlett_blue added 10:18 - Dec 8 A hugely unimpressive list. This shows the absolute folly of allowing Cook to replace almost the entire squad and also bring in a raft of his own inexperienced coaches and kitmen.
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LimerickTractorBoy added 10:21 - Dec 8 My God, some amount of turkeys in that list, Neil Lennon... dinosaur, Lamberts mate... nuff said, Lee Johnson??? However Anthony Barry could be worth a go, give him till the end of this season as unfortunately the playoffs look out of reach now so we have little to lose? Unfortunate that you can sack managers but not players, last night was a joke.
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megamoth added 10:25 - Dec 8 Lennon would be the iceberg to our Titanic. AVOID! We need a man strong enough to stand up to a squad of players who hold themselves in far higher regard than they should. The only man with a big enough character and big enough credentials for players to sit up and take note of is Warnock.
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Bert added 10:29 - Dec 8 In reality what do we know, as supporters, about any potential manager ? We all have our opinions based on their history and gossip but that is invariably based on the teams they managed at the time. This is Ipswich Town and what matters most is that the person appointed has the strength of character and the aptitude to have more than one game plan for the modern game today. We all like to speculate but this is a crisis requiring a very thorough recruitment process not just for the manager/head coach but all the coaching staff.

26

casanovacrow added 10:34 - Dec 8 So a choice of has beens, small club managers not used to pressure of being expected to win week in week out, usual suspects, or fresh out of diapers. *shudders*
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stocktractor added 10:34 - Dec 8 Not for or against him.. Warnock for 6 months then someone young
1

broseleyblue added 10:35 - Dec 8 Bert...I agree BUT what we've seen of Lennon on screen as both a player and a manager is a Roy Keane type so it's a very big no from me.
2

Suffolkboy added 10:38 - Dec 8 A man of uncontrolled emotional claptrap and the coarsest of behaviour ; these are NOT the qualities we need at ITFC and he would besmirch the reputation and damage our image - just think how he behaves with supporters and officials . Nowhere near the quality of character for us ! Please NO ! COYB
5

tractorboybig added 10:41 - Dec 8 will the owners step up to the plate or continue to make us a joke club
1

bkb added 10:43 - Dec 8 As others have said what a motley list
3

bkb added 10:47 - Dec 8 Just to stir things up a bit . How about Daniel Farke. Got Norwich promoted to the prem twice . Good contacts abroad. Brought players through from the academy. What's not to like. ?
5

itsonlyme added 10:47 - Dec 8 What a poor list! Need either someone with premiership experience or my choice would be a foreigner!
4

Europablue added 10:52 - Dec 8 Not a wholy inspiring list, but it only takes one. Liam Manning is my top choice, but I'd also take Lampard. Obviously, I know next to nothing about whether they would be the right fit. What we must demand is a manager who brings in a proven team around him.
6

Pettabelieveit added 10:53 - Dec 8 Liam Manning is the stand out for me. CV shows how highly thought of he is in the football world, has shown the courage to go abroad and expand his knowledge. I was at the game vs MK Dons and was massively impressed with their style and application and thought that's the identity benchmark for what a town side should be play like. He also knows the club extremely well, has that connection with developing academy products. We need new life, not the ‘safe' older options out there.

8

heathen66 added 10:55 - Dec 8 Any manager that is dynamic and not just stuck in one system where Plan C looks exactly the same as Plan B which is also identical to Plan A. A manager that just does not keep doing the same thing week after week...and expects different results We have proven with McCarthy, Lambert and now Cooke that this is not the way to go with stubborn aging managers who are ultimately one trick ponies !!! We have become predictable and other managers are beating us with tactics over ability. Karl Robinson would be my first choice, if not then I believe we should look abroad

4

juniorblue added 10:57 - Dec 8 Not a very inspiring list. The only one who I think would be good is Liam Manning.
3

Barty added 11:03 - Dec 8 Certainly the list is under whelming. Liam Manning probably the best there but in all honesty who knows !!!
3

BlueRuin69 added 11:04 - Dec 8 Liam Manning for me. West undet 23s, Then took Belguim 1st division club from bottom to 3rd, doing great at MKDons. Young, ambitious, has town connections, coyb
5

Carberry added 11:05 - Dec 8 He's bound to be linked he's out of work. Very unimpressive list.
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Barty added 11:06 - Dec 8 Basically to get into the play offs we will need to average 2 points per game for the remaining 25 games. Not impossible but a tall order for any new manager
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Karlosfandangal added 11:07 - Dec 8 Itsonlyme I agree not a list to get excited about, they are manager that have done ok but Town need to look for a New Sir Bobby Robson type of manager. The one I like on the list is Barry, someone you have not really heard of, someone to take Town forward, someone who is looking to build a side that can play in the Championship. Look abroad and look at managers there, not just managers who once played with Town and Managers who have worked with Mark Ashton. We need a manager that will be at Town for Years not keep chopping and changing. Someone like a Eddie Howes type of person who did thing differently, new ideas someone who can change tactics before and during the game. Last night after 10 mins you just knew Town were going to lose but we did nothing till 60 minutes should have changed it after 10 mins

5

peewee added 11:08 - Dec 8 Still think ex PL manager is needed. I still think what could of mick or lambert could of done with the financial backing and the respect they get from players. They know people within other clubs and networking to find players. Not saying they should come bk but that mold of manager is needed
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