IF Wanderers are to go down the “young and hungry” route in recruiting their new manager – then former defender Simon Charlton has no doubt which direction they need to look.

The debate at the heart of Phil Gartside’s recruitment mission would seem to be whether he plumps for a new boss with experience and Championship track record, or one who can bring fresh new ideas and a different way of thinking to a squad seemingly in need of some inspiration.

Charlton, who served for four years under Sam Allardyce and helped to get Wanderers back into the top flight, believes his former club should break the bank to pursue former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, now in charge of Norwegian club Molde.

After cutting his teeth in coaching at Old Trafford in the reserves, the 39-year-old has added to his reputation back in his homeland and has recently been courted by Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers.

But with Wanderers seemingly fancying their chances of bringing him back to English football, Charlton has no doubt that he would be a good appointment.

“Whenever a job comes up, it gets quite frustrating to see the same old, same old names connected,” he told The Bolton News.

“I’ve dealt with Ole a few times since he has been at Molde and anyone who goes to his first club and wins the championship for the first time in the club’s history must have something about them.

“People might say ‘it’s only Norway’ but for me it doesn’t matter. If he can get the best out of those players, he can get the best out of Bolton’s players, and it’s not as if he hasn’t got pedigree himself.”

Up and coming managers such as Keith Hill, Roy Keane, Karl Robinson, Michael Appleton and Dougie Freedman have also been linked with the post in the 48 hours since Coyle’s sacking was announced, although the club insist there has been no contact made with any of their potential targets as yet.

Charlton reckons Solskjaer’s Old Trafford and continental connections could be beneficial in the short term in Wanderers’ aim to bounce back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

“I’d really like to see someone fresh given a chance,” he said.

“I don’t necessarily mean pluck someone out of thin air and give them a first-time job but if you look at Ole, he could bring fresh ideas and a different way of thinking because it hasn’t been too long since he hung up his boots.

“He obviously has a great relationship with Sir Alex down the road, plus he will have a grasp of the European game and be able to tap into players that the club might not come across ordinarily.”

Older heads like Mick McCarthy, Billy Davies and Alex McLeish, who all have pedigree of getting promotion from the second tier, have understandably gained backing from Wanderers’ fans.

McCarthy gained 24 per cent of an early straw poll conducted by The Bolton News, ahead of Phil Brown (16 per cent), Roy Keane (12 per cent) and Sammy Lee (four per cent) - but all four early candidates trailed Solskjaer in the running, with over 1,800 votes cast at time of writing.

“It’s not easy for Phil Gartside or the owner because there is a lot of internal pressure to get promotion this season,” said Charlton.

“It might be tempting to go for an experienced manager, who could probably turn things round in the short term, but what then?

“It’s a sticky wicket because if they have failed at their last two clubs, what kind of guarantee is there that they can turn Bolton round at all?

“For the good of the game - and I don’t just mean Bolton here - I think clubs have got to start bringing managers in who have fresher ideas and give players an opportunity to come through and get into that side of the game.”

Charlton admits he has sympathy for outgoing manager Owen Coyle, who failed to inspire results in the opening 10 games of the season to leave the Whites hovering just above the relegation zone.

And he feels the dressing room should also take their share of the blame, ensuring that their performances improve dramatically when the new man arrives.

“I look back to my playing days at Bolton and we had players like Mike Whitlow, Robbie Elliott and Paul Warhurst who would run through brick walls for the manager,” he said.

“The supporters saw that, and I think that bought you a bit of time with them because if you lost a game, they could see that the effort had been put in.

“When you look at results this season, you wonder whether that graft has really been put in everywhere on the pitch.”