As well as past managers Craig Brewster and John Robertson a couple of other interesting names have been thrust into the limelight but none is more surprising than sometimes controversial ex Sheffield Utd manager Neil Warnock.

It would seem that fans are quite excited that such a well known and experienced manager has thrown his hat into the ring and are seeking an experienced hand to guide the ship rather than stepping back in time for a former manager or looking at another player looking to cut his teeth on the first rung of his managerial career.

In a second poll, the question was narrowed down to only the two front runners as voted for by the fans and Warnock’s lead was overwhelming with 84.5% voting for him and only 15.5% this time going for Brewster.

So why is Warnock so popular with the ICT fans? And is he even a possibility? {josquote}if Inverness or anybody else want to talk to me then I would be more than delighted to do so - Neil Warnock{/josquote}

Warnock's popularity with the ICT faithful seems to stem from the fact that he is a well known manager who is passionate about any club he has managed to the point of being controversial. He also has bags of experience and most importantly has actually expressed a desire to be considered although reports today indicate that he may now be distancing himself from the post.

In recent days he has made the following types of comments which make ICT fans believe that although it might be implausible, it may not be impossible. “I have often talked about managing in Scotland. We have family up there and my wife has already said she would like to live in Scotland at some point. "I'm dying to get back into the game and if Inverness or anybody else want to talk to me then I would be more than delighted to do so. I have not always been money-motivated. For me, it is more about the size of the challenge and working for people who have faith in me."

Warnock (58), was a midfielder in his playing days which were spent mainly at lower league clubs such as Chesterfield, Scunthorpe, and Crewe and is also a chiropodist and a qualified referee !!! He has an impressive pedigree with smaller clubs gaining promotions with Scarborough and Notts County and two consecutive play-off victories with Huddersfield. In 2003 he led Sheffield United to the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the League Cup as well as the first division play-offs. In 2006 he gained promotion to the English Premiership with Sheffield but resigned at the end of the season when the side were relegated. Whilst manager of Notts County he turned down lucrative offers to manage both Chelsea and Sunderland so perhaps managing ICT would not necessarily be the stop-gap for him until something bigger came along that some might believe. In fact, speaking to the BBC in June he challenged clubs to give him one last shot at management saying “I think there is another club, chairman and group of fans out there who would relish me taking over.” Well it appears that ICT fans seem to be relishing the idea that he could take over but it remains to be seen if that enthusiasm stretches to the Boardroom where it is rumoured that former manager Craig Brewster is the favoured candidate. Some have also questioned whether his recent comments about being delighted to discuss terms with Inverness are indeed genuine but if they are the omens may be good as the man himself (speaking in another BBC interview) said he had already turned down a couple of clubs because they didn’t feel right and has only given himself until Christmas to get fixed up with the right job.

So just how successful has Warnock been, and how do the stats shape up when compared to the other names that are being thrown around?

Warnock has managed just under one thousand games in his career and has a pretty impressive record of winning nearly 41% of them.

John Robertson would actually come closest to Warnock having managed nearly 200 games and winning 41% of them. His record at ICT was a phenomenal 53.66% wins but when the club were promoted to the SPL that dropped to only a 28% winning record for the 14 games he managed after promotion.

Craig Brewster did OK at Inverness first time around but many fans have expressed reservations about welcoming him back both because of the way he departed, comments he made about loyalty just weeks before leaving, and also his shocking record at Dundee Utd when "Brewster the Player" wasnt on the field to help "Brewster the Manager"

The other names mentioned were Owen Coyle and Maurice Malpas. Coyle has a pretty impressive record in his fledgling managerial career and could be a dark horse for the post although compensation to his current club could be a problem but fans are pretty well unanimous that Maurice Malpas is not the man they want to see in charge after watching the near demise of Motherwell last season.

We are sure that the managerial race for the ICT hotseat has many twists and turns to take before it is finished but hopefully all fans can and will get behind whichever candidate is chosen although in reality that would be harder to do for some of the candidates than others !!