47-year-old showing interest in Walsall managerial vacancy

Former Bristol Rovers and Mansfield Town manager Graham Coughlan wants to become the new manager of League Two side Walsall, per the Express & Star.

The Saddlers are on the lookout for a new boss following the sacking of ex-Premier League midfielder Matthew Taylor this past week after a 1-0 defeat against Scunthorpe United.

Taylor was only appointed over the summer after spending two years as Tottenham Hotspur’s under-18’s manager but after seven League Two defeats on the spin, the Walsall hierarchy acted to dismiss him.

Now 47-year-old Coughlan is reportedly interested in replacing Taylor, having last been in charge of an EFL club when Mansfield boss.

That job ended in October 2020 though following a poor start to the season and Coughlan since then was rumoured to be in talks for the recent vacancy at Doncaster Rovers of League One, although that ended up going to Gary McSheffrey.

His most recent role in football was as an under-23’s coach at Sheffield United, which he took up in March 2021 following the caretaker appointment of Paul Heckingbottom to first-team matters but Coughlan departed at the conclusion of the previous campaign.

The Verdict

With a win rate of just 14.81 per cent at Mansfield, Coughlan doesn’t exactly strike as the type of manager needed to get Walsall out of a relegation dogfight.

Coughlan did relatively well in his year-long spell at Bristol Rovers which is what led to him being head-hunted by the Stags, and there’s an argument to be had that if he can replicate his results at the Gas then he may be a good fit.

But with Walsall at the wrong end of the table currently, it may take a man with more experience than Coughlan does to go in there and turn things around.

Walsall fans will probably be