Wolves fans want Owen Coyle as new boss

Owen Coyle has been given the thumbs-up from Wolves fans in the battle for the Molineux hot-seat.

moreCoyle was widely thought to have been the club's first port of call yesterday as chief executive Jez Moxey and head of football Kevin Thelwell began a second round of interviews about the vacancy for a head coach.

And the 46-year-old Glaswegian has received a rock-solid show of support from readers and fans which has placed him well out in front of the other principal contenders.

With more than 7,000 votes cast in the Express & Star's exclusive poll, the former Burnley and Bolton boss picked up nearly 44 per cent of the vote from readers.

The rising young Crewe boss Steve Davis came in second with 28.21 per cent, closely followed by the former England manager Steve McClaren on 23.36 per cent.

But drifting into the distance is Kenny Jackett, whose coincidental resignation from Millwall on the day Wolves sacked Dean Saunders saw him become established as an early leader on the bookies' markets.

Jackett limped in with less than five per cent. The backing for Coyle, however, is given substance as it repeats the kind of support he was registering when we took our first soundings from Wolves fans a couple of weeks ago.

Since then, the club has revealed that for the first time in the club's modern history they will be searching for a head coach, and not a traditional manager, to work in tandem with Thelwell.

They will be charged with the task of re-inventing Wolves' footballing style and progress with a strong accent on youth as the club continues with its major investment in academy facilities.

But there is also a demand for a swift leap forward from League One – and Coyle's success in taking Burnley into the previously unchartered waters of the Premier League in 2009 is a memory still resonating with supporters.

He is also credited with a stylish re-vamp of the Bolton team he then inherited from Gary Megson and which he led to safety in 2011.

That was before a crushing Wembley FA Cup semi-final defeat to Stoke appeared to de-stabilise his regime.

Moxey and Thelwell are expected to continue their more detailed talks with the main contenders over the next 48 hours

That will focus in on each candidate's appraisal of how they would tackle the Wolves project. An appointment is expected next week.