Neil Lennon: 6-1

LENNON has been widely linked with moves away from Glasgow following Celtic’s progress to the last 16 of the Champions League this season, which included a victory over Barcelona.

The 41-year-old from Northern Ireland won over 40 caps for his country during a playing career that was split between England and Scotland.

He spent six seasons with Crewe and then four at Leicester before moving to Celtic, where he played more than 250 games between 2000 and 2007.

Lennon rejoined Celtic as first-team coach in 2008 and became manager when Tony Mowbray departed in March 2010.

Celtic finished a point behind Rangers in the Scottish Premier League but lifted the Scottish Cup in his first season. Lennon put his hands on the league title a year later and once again this season.

Lennon’s fiery temperament has led him into disciplinary trouble. During the 2010/11 season he was given a six-game touchline ban for misconduct, which was reduced to four matches after appeal. He was given another four match touchline ban following an altercation with Rangers manager Ally McCoist during a Scottish FA Cup game in March 2011.

Malky Mackay: 14/1

MACKAY was inevitably linked to the Everton position after guiding Cardiff City to the Championship title this season.

The 41-year-old Scot achieved the success with the Bluebirds without spending lavishly. Mackay’s two-year spell with Cardiff also included a journey to the League Cup final of 2012, which ended in a narrow defeat to Liverpool.

Mackay, born in Bellshill near Glasgow, played as a defender for Queens Park and Celtic before joining Norwich City in 1998. He went on to play more than 200 league games for the Canaries between 1998 and 2004.

He completed his playing career with three seasons at Watford and had earned five Scottish caps by the time of his appointment as caretaker manager at Vicarage Road in November 2008.

That lasted five games as Watford chose a former Chelsea reserve team coach called Brendan Rodgers as the new manager. When Rodgers resigned in June 2009, Mackay took over the reins on a permanent basis.

Mackay was headhunted by Cardiff in the summer of 2011. He signed a three-year contract, which runs until the end of next season.

Vitor Pereira: 7/1

DARK horse candidate Vitor Pereira was formerly right-hand man to current Tottenham Hotspur boss Andre Villas-Boas at Porto. He has a rising reputation on the continent and is reportedly keen to try his hand managing in England.

He led Porto to the Portuguese title in his first season in charge in 2011/12.

Pereira is among a small group of managers with little or no experience of playing in the top flight of the game. He played his football in Portugal’s regional divisions and retired at the age of 29 to take up coaching.

He began at junior level and advanced to taking charge at Portuguese third division club Sanjoanese in 2004/05. He was head coach at Espinho and Santa Clara in between spells working with the juniors at Porto.

Pereira had advanced to number two at Porto when Villas-Boas departed for Chelsea and was given the job of head coach ahead of the 2011/12 season.

Porto did not do well in Europe, being knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage and also made a quick exit from the Europa League. But the main prize of the domestic title was secured.

Duncan Ferguson: 16/1

THE wild card in the pack. Some Evertonians believe the talismanic centre forward of the 1990s has shed enough of his rough edges to become an inspirational figurehead.

Ferguson’s reputation as a coach is growing since he returned to Goodison to work with Everton’s academy set-up under the guidance of Kevin Sheedy. Ferguson recently gained his UEFA A coaching badge and says he is considering a management role.

Speaking to the ECHO earlier this year, he said: “I’m made up to be working with the academy. When I first came in I was working with all the different age groups and I still do sometimes. But at the moment I seem to have settled with assisting Kevin Sheedy and the U18s.

“I’m taking my pro licence now which will qualify me to become a manager. I’ve passed my UEFA badges and I started the big one. At the moment I’m taking it step by step and enjoying what I’m doing. Where I’ll go in the future time will tell.”

Ferguson enjoyed two spells as a player with Everton. The first, 1994-98, yielded an FA Cup winners’ medal. In the he second, 2000 to 2006, he was often hampered by injury problems.

Michael Laudrup: 10/1

LAUDRUP has 14 months left on his Swansea City contract but, with his name also linked with Real Madrid, chairman Huw Jenkins has admitted there’s a plan in place should the Dane leave.

But in terms of going to the Blues, Laudrup’s agent Bayram Tutumlu said last night: “Michael is very happy at Swansea. We do not think about any other possibilities.

“He will not be changing clubs. He likes Swansea and is very settled.

“People always talk about Michael becoming a coach of other clubs because he has done very well.

“But he is the manager of Swansea and that will not change. The Swansea fans do not need to worry. He will be there next season.”

Laudrup joined the Swans last summer, replacing Liverpool-bound Brendan Rodgers, and has enjoyed a successful first season in England, guiding the Welsh side to their first ever major trophy, the League Cup, and ninth in the Premier League with two games to play.

He guided Brondby to the Danish title and although he was less successful with Getafe and Spartak Moscow, his star is on the rise again.

Phil Neville: 10/1

NEVILLE is due to leave Everton at the end of the season having declined David Moyes’ offer of a coaching role at Goodison next season, saying he wanted to continue his playing career at as high a level as possible.

But the chance of a high-profile move into management could well appeal to the 36-year-old – unless Moyes wants him to take him to Old Trafford to work at the club where he started his career.

Neville is due to join the England U21 coaching staff at this summer’s European Championships in Israel, having worked with Stuart Pearce’s backroom team earlier this season.

During 10 years as a professional at Old Trafford, he won six Premier League titles, three FA Cups and the Champions League.

He joined Everton in a £3.5 million move in the summer of 2005 and quickly established himself as one of the first names on Moyes’ team sheet, in midfield or defensive roles.

Neville became club captain in 2007. He has played just over 300 games in a blue shirt, the last of them an FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Wigan in March.

Neville won most of his 59 England caps during his time with United.

Roberto Martinez: 6/4

MARTINEZ is a little distracted by the daunting twin tasks of keeping Wigan in the Premier League and an FA Cup final date with Manchester City at Wembley on Saturday.

Even so, that has not stopped the bookmakers identifying the Spaniard as favourite to fill the position at Everton.

Martinez said: “We are involved in two major competitions and we are not going to lose any focus.”

Wigan have established a reputation as Premier League escape artists – but their home defeat to Swansea this week wasn’t part of the script and the Latics go into their final two league games three points short of safety.

Martinez, 39, began building his career in English football in 1995 when he left Balaguer in Spain to join Wigan, where he played more than 200 games.

He also played more than 100 games for Swansea City, who hired him as manager in 2007. The Swans were crowned League One champions in his first season. That earned him a move back to Wigan in 2009.

Martinez was interviewed by Liverpool for the job left vacant by Kenny Dalglish’s departure last year but said he wished to remain at Wigan.