Ex-Man United star named in running to manage EFL club after sack decision
Former Man United goalkeeper Lee Grant is the bookmakers’ second-favourite to be the next permanent Fleetwood Town manager after Pete Wild was sacked.
Fleetwood hired Wild as their new boss in December 2024, and he lasted a little over a year in charge before being relieved of his duties on Sunday.
The former Barrow manager led the Cod Army to a 14th-placed finish in League Two last term, but was unable to help them progress this time around despite some early-season playoff hopes.
A run of seven games without a win left them in 15th before his exit following a 2-1 defeat to Colchester United, with first-team coach Matt Lawlor since named as their interim manager until the end of the campaign.
Fleetwood chiefs will give Lawlor the chance to prove himself at the helm, but a new permanent successor to Wild is still expected to be named, with Grant named as one of the leading contenders.
Lee Grant is the second-favourite to be Fleetwood’s next permanent manager
Grant played twice for Man United between 2018 and 2022 before his retirement from playing, going on to become a first-team coach at Ipswich Town under Kieran McKenna.
League One side Huddersfield Town handed him his first full-time managerial role in May 2025, but Grant was dismissed by the Terriers in 17 January after just eight months in charge.
He had led them to sixth in the third-tier, but a loss to relegation-threatened Burton Albion was enough to see him sacked before Liam Manning was named as Huddersfield’s new boss last week.
With Grant out of work and Fleetwood after a new full-time boss, he has been named as the 8/1 second-favourite to succeed Wild on a permanent basis.
Who else is in the running to be Fleetwood’s next permanent boss?
Interim boss Lawlor will hope to thrust himself into the running to Fleetwood’s next manager on a full-time deal, but he is currently not believed to be a leading contender for the role.
Former Peterborough United boss Darren Ferguson has been priced as the favourite for the job by one of the UK’s leading bookmakers, at odds of 4/1.
Grant is next, with Dean Holden, Stephen Dobbie and David Dunn each also believed to be in the running, at odds of 10/1 respectively.
Whichever boss does take over may have to give the green light to the sale of one of the club’s best young talents, after Football Insider revealed that Conor Haughey is being tracked by Premier League clubs ahead of a possible move away from the Highbury Stadium.