Next Peterborough United Manager: Five Potential Candidates to Replace Luke Williams
Peterborough United have sacked manager Luke Williams after Saturday's 2-0 home defeat by Doncaster Rovers left them second from bottom in League One.
The loss was the Posh's third in a winless five-game run in the league, leaving them just one point above Wigan Athletic at the foot of the table.
Williams had replaced Darren Ferguson in October 2025 when Peterborough were bottom of the table, and steadied the ship to finish 18th last season.
Another slow start this term has now cost him his job after less than 11 months in charge, with assistant manager Ryan Harley and coach Connell Rawlinson placed in temporary charge of the first team.
A club statement said the decision "had not been taken lightly", but that the board "felt it had no other choice but to make a change", pointing to the "significant investment made in the squad" over the summer.
One obvious name won't be walking back through the door.
Darren Ferguson, the club's most successful ever manager with four promotions across four spells, was asked directly by the Peterborough Telegraph on Saturday night whether he'd consider a fifth stint.
His answer left no room for doubt: "no chance this time."
Betting sites are yet to price up a market on Williams' successor, but here at Free Bets we've done our own digging and picked out five names of our own who could be under consideration for the London Road job.
Next Peterborough United Manager Candidates
Darragh MacAnthony has never been shy about moving quickly on a managerial appointment, and this is now his 14th call since buying the club in 2006.
Here are five names who could realistically be in the frame.
Michael Appleton
Michael Appleton left Shrewsbury Town in January after less than a year in charge, with the club just two points above the League Two relegation zone at the time.
He has since worked in TV punditry, most recently giving his verdict on Russell Martin's struggles at Leicester City.
Appleton brings managerial experience from Blackpool, Oxford United and Lincoln City, and has said the Shrewsbury spell hasn't put him off getting back into the dugout.
A club the size of Peterborough, with the infrastructure to compete near the top of League One, would be exactly the kind of project he's been waiting for.
Paul Heckingbottom
Paul Heckingbottom was sacked by Preston North End on 13 September, less than a week before Williams lost his job at Peterborough, with the Lilywhites second bottom of the Championship after six defeats in seven games.
He guided Barnsley to promotion from League One via the play-offs in 2016, before a brief spell at Leeds United and a stint with Hibernian in Scotland.
He then took Sheffield United back up from the Championship in 2023, giving him a stronger CV across multiple divisions than most currently out of work.
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 run to Wembley.
He was linked with the Wycombe Wanderers job earlier this month but the Chairboys are understood to have looked elsewhere.
Few available managers can match his recent record of building a squad capable of competing at the top end of League One on a modest budget, which is exactly the profile MacAnthony has gone for before.
Michael Duff
Michael Duff became the first managerial casualty of the League One season when Wycombe Wanderers sacked him on 8 September after a winless start to the campaign, just under a year after he replaced Mike Dodds at Adams Park.
Before that, Duff won the League Two title with Cheltenham Town in 2021, led Barnsley to a League One play-off final at Wembley in 2023 (narrowly lost to Sheffield Wednesday), and spent time in the Championship with Huddersfield Town.
He's shown before he can get modest squads playing above their level, and a fresh project away from Wycombe could appeal.
Matt Bloomfield
Matt Bloomfield has been out of work since Oxford United sacked him in June following their relegation from the Championship, having only taken over at the Kassam Stadium in January.
Before that he built a strong reputation at Wycombe Wanderers, leading the Chairboys into the automatic promotion places in League One before Luton Town poached him in January 2025, only for that move to end in relegation too.
His spell at Oxford was more encouraging than the eventual result suggests - his points-per-game actually improved during his time in interim charge - and a return to League One, the level where he's had his most success, would make plenty of sense.
For now, Ryan Harley and Connell Rawlinson remain in temporary charge of first-team affairs.
Peterborough are next in action in the EFL Trophyy to Colchester United on Tuesday, before returning to League One duty at home to Stockport County on Saturday.
This page will be updated if a frontrunner emerges or a permanent appointment is confirmed.
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