INTEREST in the vacant job at Bolton Wanderers job is high – with several big names already strongly linked as Keith Hill’s successor.

Head of football operations Tobias Phoenix and chief operations officer Andy Gartside are understood to be working on the new appointment.

Nigel Clough and Gary Bowyer are the front runners with the bookmakers but the likes of Sam Ricketts, Dean Holden and Kevin Nolan have also been heavily mentioned.

Clough has also been reported to have started talks with Championship club Birmingham City - which makes the chances of a move to Bolton slim in the extreme.

The Bolton News also understands Barrow manager Ian Evatt is on a shortlist of names that the club wishes to investigate.

Speaking on BBC Radio Manchester, John McGinlay hoped that his former team-mate David Lee would be considered by the Bolton hierarchy after spending several years working at academy level.

“If we’re bringing young players forward and I would imagine it will be a youthful side next season, there’s nobody better because he’s worked with them all the way through,” he said.

“He’s the one that brought through the majority of the ones who have had opportunity at first team level, so it would be a wonderful opportunity for him.

“But people inside make the decisions and that’s’ the way we’ll have to go.”

McGinlay also felt Hill and assistant David Flitcroft struggled to maintain their initial momentum after taking over at Wanderers last August, and would leave the club feeling dissatisfied with how last season went.

“It was a really thought ask, there’s no doubt about that,” he said.

“I still think we had a decent squad and we started off quite promising when both Keith and David came in and the style of football got people excited, but it petered away quite quickly.

“I don’t think you get any time in football. It’s a results-driven business.

“They will be disappointed because it’s their home-town club. They will wish they had done a better job and left the club in better shape but it is what it is.

“The club has got to go forward, regroup, restructure and it’s a big ask for anybody coming in now.”

“It’s a tough ask but if you get it right, there’s no better job in football.

“The club, for me, can’t get any lower. But it’s a great opportunity for someone to come in and put their mark on it.”