Alan Reynolds would be a "good fit" for the Bohemians vacancy, according to RTÉ soccer analyst Graham Gartland, with former Republic of Ireland defender Richard Dunne and Vinny Perth also among the names in the shake-up to fill the role.
Bohemians parted company with manager Declan Devine on Sunday with the club sitting seventh in the Premier Division after successive losses to Drogheda United on Monday and north Dublin rivals Shelbourne on Friday night.
Devine, who succeeded Keith Long as manager at the tail end of the 2022 campaign, made a strong start to his first full season last term though their form eventually tapered off and they finished sixth, subsequently losing the FAI Cup final to St Patrick's Athletic.
In the short-term, Devine will be succeeded by director of football Pat Fenlon on an interim basis, the last man to guide Bohs to league success in 2009.
Gartland credited Devine for instilling passion at the club and leading them to a second FAI Cup final appearance in three years. But he said they were badly weakened by the departure of striker Jonathan Afolabi to Belgian side Kortrijk in the off-season and their recent efforts in the transfer market hadn't borne fruit.
"He (Devine) had an unbelievable start to last season," Gartland said on the RTÉ Soccer podcast.
"(Jonathan) Afolabi was a massive part of that. Once he got up and running, he became at times unplayable in certain games. And I think a lot of their play was directed around him."
"They need somebody that's going to give them a way of playing going forward. I think some of the criticism under Devine was they didn't have a set way of playing.
🔴⚫️ What's next for Bohemians?
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 11, 2024
Graham Gartland discusses who might be in line to succeed Declan Devine after the club and manager parted ways on Sunday #Bohs #loi
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"There were certain games where I saw them where I thought 'okay, they look good' but they sometimes changed to suit what opposition they were playing. And that can be a good thing because you're showing you can adjust to the game.
"But other times, they probably didn't really implement their own gameplan. Other than Afolabi playing off (James) Clarke.
"In the transfer market, they've been a little bit unlucky or a bit hit and miss. Grant coming back, you're expecting big things from him, and he probably hasn't hit the ground running. The likes of Cornwall and Buckley who've come back have been really good servants for Bohemians but have picked up ACL injuries.
"They've shopped a lot in the Polish market. But Polish players that would have played in Scotland - with Hearts or teams like that - and some of them, it takes them a little bit of time to get used to the league."
Former Waterford manager and current assistant Reynolds has been touted as one of the likely candidates, with Gartland also considering the cases for Dunne and Perth.
"Alan Reynolds is really well thought of in football circles. He's done really brilliantly as assistant up in Derry with Ruaidhrí Higgins. He's done great with Keith Long. He'd be a really good fit.
"Richie Dunne, if he puts in, would be a really big name. That gives us two ex-internationals (in the league) in terms of Damien Duff and Richie Dunne in opposite dugouts. Vinny Perth would be interested in it as well I'd say.
"We talk about a five-year plan or a three-year plan - but they need somebody that's going to build them in such a way that when the new stadium comes, they're out the gate and are ready to go and we know what we're getting from Bohs, week in, week out."
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