Next Bradford City Manager: Five Potential Candidates to Replace Graham Alexander
Bradford City have confirmed the departures of Graham Alexander and assistant Chris Lucketti, with the head coach set for an emotional return to Preston North End less than three years after leaving Deepdale as a player.
Preston made a formal approach on Wednesday, and after talks were sanctioned, Alexander confirmed he wished to accept the Lilywhites' offer, with terms agreed between the two clubs to let the move go through.
Alexander had been in charge since November 2023, missing out on the League Two play-offs in his first season before guiding the Bantams to automatic promotion a year later.
Bradford then lost last term's League One play-off semi-final to Bolton Wanderers, but have made an even stronger start to this campaign and currently sit top of the third tier.
Chief executive Ryan Sparks said the club's "responsibility throughout was to act in the best interests of Bradford City", adding that Alexander and Lucketti leave the Bantams "in a much stronger position than the one they inherited".
First-team coach Mark Trueman has been placed in caretaker charge for Saturday's League One trip to Reading, assisted by goalkeeping coach Colin Doyle, with the club reportedly banking around £500,000 in compensation to help fund the search for a permanent successor.
Football betting sites, including Sky Bet, have already opened a market on Alexander's replacement, so here at Free Bets we've picked out five names from the betting who are in the frame for the Valley Parade job.
Next Bradford City Manager Odds
League One betting odds see Bradford priced at 6/1 to win the title, showing that bookmakers still see plenty of competition from the chasing pack.
With a promotion push potentially at stake, the identity of Alexander's successor could prove more important than usual.
| Candidate | Odds |
| Paul Heckingbottom | 5/4 |
| Dave Challinor | 4/1 |
| Tom Cleverley | 11/2 |
| Karl Robinson | 6/1 |
| Luke Williams | 7/1 |
Odds correct as of 28 September 2026, 8:30pm - courtesy of Sky Bet.
Paul Heckingbottom
Paul Heckingbottom is the clear favourite, having been out of work since Preston sacked him on 13 September following six defeats in their opening seven Championship games.
He guided Barnsley to promotion from League One via the play-offs in 2016, had spells at Leeds United and Hibernian, then took Sheffield United back up from the Championship as runners-up in 2022-23 before his own sacking there in December 2023, giving him a stronger recent CV across multiple divisions than most currently available names.
Dave Challinor
Dave Challinor left Stockport County by mutual consent in June after almost five years in charge, having taken the Hatters from the National League to back-to-back third-placed League One finishes and a play-off final at Wembley, where they lost 4-1 to Bolton Wanderers in May.
Few available managers can match his recent record of building a squad capable of competing at the top of League One on a modest budget, which is exactly the profile Bradford would want if they're serious about kicking on this season.
Tom Cleverley
Tom Cleverley remains high in the betting despite already ruling himself out.
The Plymouth Argyle head coach, who was raised in Bradford from 18 months old and came through the City academy during their Premier League promotion season, says he's fully focused on Home Park after signing a three-year contract in 2025.
His form backs that up: Plymouth beat Bradford 2-0 last month and sit third in League One, and Cleverley was named EFL League One Manager of the Month for March. Bookmakers clearly aren't taking his denial at face value just yet.
Karl Robinson
Karl Robinson has been out of work since Salford City sacked him in June, despite guiding the club to a League Two play-off final at Wembley just a month earlier, where they lost to Notts County.
He won automatic promotion to the Championship with MK Dons in 2015 and later spent five years at Oxford United, giving him experience of promotion pushes at multiple levels of the EFL.
Luke Williams
Luke Williams is available again just over a week after Peterborough United sacked him following a run of results that left them second-bottom of League One.
He won promotion back to the Football League with Notts County via the National League play-offs in 2023, then took charge at Swansea City before his brief, difficult stint at London Road, giving him a recent record of getting teams promoted even if the Peterborough spell didn't work out.
For now, Mark Trueman and Colin Doyle remain in interim charge, with Bradford's next game away to Reading on Saturday 3 October.
This page will be updated if a frontrunner emerges or a permanent appointment is confirmed.
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