Next Barnsley Manager Odds: Hourihane & Duff to Appease Fans after Darrell Clarke Sacked
Craig Jones 
Would it even be summer in Barnsley, if there wasn't drama at the football club.
The good weather is out, and that's pushed the club into sacking Darrell Clarke as head coach, and it's now all eyes on who will take over next.
The current stance is clear, the Championship is where this club wants to be. But in three years of League One, Michael Duff, Neill Collins and now Darrell Clarke have all tried and failed to deliver promotion.
Next up? Well long term, who knows, but short term, club legend Conor Hourihane will step up and take control until the end of the season.
Next Barnsley Manager Odds
There are no odds currently available with betting sites for the next Barnsley manager just yet, but that will change.
Unless an appointment is made before the end of the season, you can expect to see next Barnsley manager odds appear shortly after the season has ended, which is when the club have said they will make an appointment.
But that doesn't stop us from looking at the front runners for the job right now.
Conor Hourihane
If football betting sites were offering odds right now, then Hourihane would no doubt be an odds on favourite as he has the inside track.
In my opinion, him leading the club for the rest of the season is his test to prove he can deliver, if we see small improvements, then I believe he'll be given the job in the summer full time.
It's a big risk, and if you take out his connections to the club, there would be uproar from some at the thought of giving a 34-year-old his first job in football shortly after retirement.
But this is Conor Hourihane we're talking about. Club legend, a player who never forgot his Barnsley connection after going onto bigger and better things. A player who left on good terms, and one that came back at the start of this season.
Now retired, current set piece coach at Barnsley, his retirement and the fact we employ a set piece coach are two topics I could write a book on, but they're not for this article.
For me, it's his to lose. A decent end to the season, and by decent I mean it only needs to be slightly better than what we've watched recently, and to aid season ticket sales, I think Conor Hourihane is our new Barnsley head coach.
Michael Duff
They say you should never go back, but Barnsley tried to go back last summer, and if they're not going down the Hourihane route, I think they try to go back again this summer.
Since leaving Barnsley for 'bigger and better things' Duff has been sacked after just a few months at Swansea and sacked after less than a season at Huddersfield.
He's done nothing to prove worthy of the job since leaving, truth be told, but I can't get away from the fact that he 'gets us'.
We felt comfortable with Duff in charge, he understood us, the fans rallied behind him, we were together as one, probably the most we've ever been since Daniel Stendel.
I don't think the timing should put you off either. I think Duff will more than likely have already decided to take the next couple of months off and assess his options when the summer starts.
Paul Warne
I'm only throwing Paul Warne's name here because I've seen plenty of people online suggesting we should be going all out to get Paul Warne.
You're correct, Barnsley should be doing that, I hope they do. But do you think Paul Warne would come here? Because I definitely don't.
He's prime for either a low Championship or top League One job as his next move, and I'd have him favourite when one of those comes up fairly locally.
But Warne wants a lot of control, which he won't get here, and he also likes to spend money, which he won't get here.
An appointment that would delight me, but can I really see Paul Warne taking the Barnsley job? No, I can't.
The Rest
I'll write a full list when odds are released, but I do genuinely think that this job goes to Conor Hourihane, or we go back to employing a foreign manager and hope we find a gem.
If we don't, and the three above don't get it, then I'd really like us to pick up the phone and call Grant McCann.
We probably should have done that last summer to be honest, he's good with budgets, local, got plenty of experience, a lot of contacts in the game and can bring Luke Molyneux with him.
League One Playoff Odds
Can Conor Hourihane perform a miracle and guide Barnsley into the playoffs this season? Highly unlikely, but we've got the latest odds below.
