It does indeed seem that the shortleet consists of Warnock, Coyle and Brewster. For what it's worth, my views are as follows;
WARNOCK; Still not convinced that he is a serious candidate but if he is my view is that he would be the best appointment out of the three. He is a vastly experienced manager who has managed at a very high level but also in the english lower leugues where the financial constraints and style of play are not dissimilar t the SPL. His lack of knowledge of our game in Scotland could be compensated for by retaining Donald Park as his assistant.
While he has never enjoyed spectacular success he has consistently achieved well over his long running career and would be a goo bet to lead us to mid table security or better.
Another big plus would be his enormously high profile which would project the club onto the UK stage and directly and indirectly generate income as a result.
There is a risk that he might not stay long but bear in mind that that's hardly without precedent since Pele left.
OWEN COYLE; A close second in my view. He knows the game well in Scotland and will hae good contacts in the central belt.
His managerial record so far is very good especially in the cup competitions particularly given the financial constaints he is operating with inder Goeff Brown's tightly budgeted regime at St Johnstone. Despite that he very nearly pipped cach rich Gretna to the first division title and might well have done so had it not been for the extra strain of reaching two national semi finals both of which they played well in and could quite easily have won.
Coyle's teams also appear to play an entertaining style of football which might put a few extra bums on seats at the TCS.
I appreciate that he's untried as an SPL manager and that we would have to pay compensation to secure him but, in my view, his potential is so high that it would be well worth it.
CRAIG BREWSTER; In my view, far and away the weakest of the three candidates. I've no problem with the fact that he left to "better" himself. By all accounts he conducted himself well and as a result helped the club secure maximum compensation.
What does concern me greatly is his record and ability as a manager. It's true to say that he did relatively well during his stint at the TCS but in retrospect his contribution was more as the best forward in our history rather than for his frankly often naive and one dimensional management skills. At the age of 41 he now has little to offer on the playing front.
I believe the true worth, or lack of it, of Brewster as a manager was exposed during his tenure at Tannadice. The fact of the matter is tha if Dundee United hadn't sacked Brewster when they did they would have been relegated. I very much fear that if ICT appoint him we will be facing the same prospect.