KEEPING track of what direction Wanderers are heading as they search for a new manager hasn’t been easy, as there have been quite a few names bandied about.

You’ve had the young guns like Solskjaer and Freedman or the experienced heads like McCarthy and Souness – and all the while Jimmy Phillips, Sammy Lee and Julian Darby keep things simmering on the training ground.

I’m not sure if the club even know what appointment they are going to make, but I’ve listed a few of the runners and riders below – in no particular order – and how I think they’d suit the club.

MICK McCARTHY (Course and distance specialist) He’s someone I played with, and for, and someone who won’t stand for any nonsense.

He was as hard as a manager as he was a player and took no prisoners. If his players were not giving 100 per cent, then he made sure they knew about it.

Okay, it won’t be Champagne football but he knows how to get promotion from the Championship and we know it’s effective. It was at Wolves right up until the last season.

One problem I can foresee with Mick is that he won’t come cheap. He has a staff and had been given lots of money to spend at Molineux. I don’t see him getting a big budget at all here.

One thing with Mick though – you get exactly what’s written on the tin.

GRAEME SOUNESS (A short, sharp, shock) It looks like his name has been floated out there to gauge some reaction, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s tempted back in after working as a pundit for so long.

Like Mick, he’s big on discipline, and he’d have us ship shape pretty quickly. But do you worry that he’s been out of the loop for six years whilst in the TV studio?

He obviously has a history with Sammy Lee at Liverpool and also knows Jimmy Phillips, so that barrier won’t be there. He doesn’t have that automatic number two as Mick has with Terry Connor.

But I’d have the same reservations about the cost, and whether we can look at him as a long-term solution.

OLE GUNNAR SOLKSJAER (Reluctant candidate) I thought it was a gamble to be chasing him so hard early on. He’s unproven and even though he had some experience at United’s reserves, I don’t think you can read too much into success in the Norwegian leagues.

He’s obviously got the potential to be a fantastic asset to someone but is he right for our situation right now? We need someone to hit the ground running and I think his lack of experience at this level would be a problem. And has he ever been put under pressure? His previous two jobs have been relatively simple but the task of turning us round definitely isn’t easy.

JIMMY PHILLIPS (Home-grown hero) Clearly, Jimmy has impressed the chairman with what he has done with the Academy and when you factor in Julian Darby and Sammy Lee, there is a lot of experience there.

You’d have to say Jimmy is in the box seat at the moment because this next couple of games are potentially a great vehicle for him.

His big advantage is that he already knows the players, knows the lie of the land, and he’s had the last week or so to get things the way he wants them on the training pitch.

Whether he’s looking longer term or just getting things right for whoever is coming in, you can’t be sure at the moment, but knowing Jimmy he’ll go at it 100 per cent and make sure a good job gets done.

DOUGIE FREEDMAN (Rising star) Dougie is someone I played with for Scotland, where he had just come up from the Under-21s.

It’s hard not to be impressed by what he’s done at Palace with a limited budget, and there’s no question that he’s brought through a few really good young players in that team.

But like Solskjaer, has he really been put under any pressure?

It would be a gamble at the moment to put in an untested manager and even though he’s been going great guns this season, it might be a little too early for Dougie.

You also wonder what the compensation would be to bring him in though.

It might have been cheaper to sign Wilfried Zaha last summer!

PAULO DI CANIO (Wildcard factor) There’s always one intriguing name in a manager race and for me, it’s him.

That kind of appointment could go either way. Di Canio looks like a volcano who’s ready to erupt and you either love him or loathe him.

There wouldn’t be any shortage of headlines where he’s concerned but often you wonder whether they are putting his club in the right light.

He’s got a great record with Swindon Town but you question whether he could handle the pressure he’d be put under right away at the Reebok.

I think he would be a massive gamble, and probably not one worth taking in my view.

*****

I DON’T think there is a better first-team coach out there – anywhere – than Sammy Lee.

So in that respect, the chairman has already got one very important part of the jigsaw puzzle sorted as he looks to appoint a new management team.

I’m happy to see that Jimmy Phillips has been given a chance, he deserves it, and I like the look of the team they have built there, with Julian Darby also coming back into the fold.

You forget how much experience Julian has because of his age, and he’s been around some pretty big clubs.

Billy Davies certainly rates him, and has taken him everywhere he has been.

And it didn’t take Jimmy long to get him on board either.

But the longer things go on with “caretaker this” and “interim that”, the more uncertainty creeps into that dressing room. And that’s not a good thing.

The lads need to know what direction they are heading in. However you phrase it, a caretaker manager doesn’t have the same authority as someone you know is going to be picking the team for months to come.

Whether that’s Jimmy is up to the powers that be.

But when you think that the January transfer window isn’t far away, and that some of the lads need contracts sorting and things like that, then I don’t think we can hang around for long.

*****

GOOD news has been thin on the ground this season but reading that Stuart Holden is coming back to the club soon has made my week.

Forget when he comes back, the fact that he’s even been allowed back from the States to carry on his rehab with Wanderers is the biggest boost you could hope for.

It’s the biggest step forward we’ve seen for a long time because whilst he was over there in Delaware, you wondered whether he would ever get to a level where he could move on. I feared for what might happen.

Now, the club are probably going to have to put reins on him because he’ll be desperate to join in after 18 months of pure hell.

I’m sure they’ll be realistic and ease him back slowly, but having him back around the camp will be a big lift for the players and especially the fans.

The lad deserves a bit of good luck now.