Rob Edwards on Bristol City shortlist but is reportedly leading candidate at Championship rivals | Bristol Live

Rob Edwards is understood to be on Bristol City's head coach shortlist but it is reportedly not the only Championship job he is a candidate for

Former Luton Town manager Rob Edwards is amongst the names on Bristol City's shortlist to be their next head coach, Bristol Live understands, along with Gerhard Struber and a third candidate whose identity is currently unknown. However, according to Sky Sports, Edwards is the leading candidate of a four-man shortlist at Middlesbrough.

According to Sky's North East reporter Keith Downie, the 42-year-old "leads a shortlist of four" which also includes Steve Cooper, Danny Rohl and an unnamed candidate after Boro sacked Michael Carrick last week.

Edwards departed Luton in January after guiding the Hatters to promotion to the Premier League before overseeing a tough first half of the campaign last season in the Championship, following their relegation from the top-flight. They were subsequently relegated again to League One on the final day of last season under the management of Matt Bloomfield.

The 42-year-old has previously worked in the West Country, guiding Forest Green Rovers to the League Two title in 2022 before departing for Championship side Watford that summer. Edwards only spent a couple of months at Vicarage Road before joining rivals Luton two months later.

He kept the Hatters in the play-off positions before beating Sunderland and Coventry City to seal promotion to the Premier League. Luton, having played in the National League as recently as 2014, finish 18th on 26 points, six points off of safety.

Last season was less successful as he departed with Town two points and two places above the Championship relegation zone.

Elsewhere, former Barnsley manager Gerhard Struber is also understood to be in the running for the job. The Austrian spent just shy of a year at Oakwell between 2019 and 2020 where he led the Tykes to unlikely survival in the Championship before departing for MLS club New York Red Bulls.

The 48-year-old spent three years in the United States before returning to his native Austria to manage Red Bull Salzburg, where he lasted just under a year.

Most recently, Struber was in charge of FC Köln in the German second tier. The Austrian had the Billy Goats on the verge of promotion to the Bundesliga but was dismissed with just two matches remaining alongside their sporting director.

It is understood that there is at least one more name on City's shortlist, believed to be a foreign candidate, with the club progressing in the search to find Liam Manning's replacement.

Manning left the Robins last week to join Championship rivals Norwich City after the Canaries met the 39-year-old's release clause.

The Reds enjoyed their best season for 17 years last campaign, finishing sixth before falling to a 6-0 aggregate defeat in the Championship play-offs against Sheffield United. They will be hoping to build on that momentum in the upcoming season.