Latest Preston North End manager odds: Sacked Norwich City boss joins list but clear favourite emerges

Preston North End are in to their fourth day in their search of a new first-team manager to replace Ryan Lowe who announced his departure on Monday.

Lowe's exit from Deepdale came as a shock, especially with only one game gone in the season, but time waits for no man, and already so much has gone on with his departure. The Lilywhites beat Sunderland 2-0 in the Carabao Cup, and caretaker boss Mike Marsh threw his name in to the mix, admitting he'd like to be considered.

Hours after Lowe's departure was announced, betting markets opened up on who would become the next manager. Crawley Town boss Scott Lindsey emerged as the favourite, and that is where he has remained. His odds as of right now are 1/2 which is up from 6/4, making him the leading candidate for the role.

Sky Sports said that a shortlist had been drawn up to replace Lowe, and that included Alex Neil who is open to a return to Deepdale. He's been out of work since being relieved of his duties as Stoke City boss last season, and Sky Bet have given him a 10/1 chance of getting the job for a second time. Despite putting him among the six names, Blackburn Rovers boss John Eustace is currently not an option.

One person that does feature on that list is Brian Barry-Murphy, who left his role as manager of Manchester City's under-21s team this summer. His only previous experience of senior management was when he was in charge of Rochdale, and his odds have changed from 12/1 to 9/1 in recent days, ranking him above Neil.

Gary Rowett and Paul Gallagher are both out of work and they both appeared on Sky Sports' published shortlist of candidates. Rowett was in charge of Birmingham City when they relegated from the Championship last season, but he only took over at the end of March, and is ranked at 12/1, placing him 12th in the running.

Gallagher is also without a job after leaving Stoke City's coaching staff, and he's popular amongst the PNE faithful after four separate stints at the club, making 331 appearances. The 39-year-old is further out with odds of 16/1.

Two new names have been thrown in the mix that haven’t been mentioned by Sky Sports and that is Callum Davidson and David Wagner. Davidson is considered a hero at North End, having played for the club for seven years. The 48-year-old has only been managing for four years after taking the St Johnstone job, but was successful there, and won the Scottish League Cup and Scottish Cup double.

Davidson’s odds are 16/1, and he is currently in work, managing Queen's Park in the Scottish Championship. Former Huddersfield Town boss David Wagner is out of work though after being sacked by Norwich City after their play-off final defeat to Leeds United. He's got the same odds as Gallagher and Davidson at 16/1, but his ability to get the Terriers promoted when not many fancied them might be something to consider.

Anthony Barry, currently a part of Portugal's coaching team, has also seen his odds shorten from 25/1 to 10/1. As of 12.16 pm on Thursday, August 15, here’s the latest odds provided by SkyBet.