Two former English Premier League strikers have offered to take up the vacant coaching role at Hyundai A-League club Newcastle Jets, according to reports.
The Newcastle Herald is reporting that ex-Tottenham and Manchester United star Teddy Sheringham and former Jets skipper Michael Bridges are keen to take the reins in the Hunter.
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The Jets are desperate to appoint a new boss as soon as possible after Scott Miller and assistant Luciano Trani were both sacked from their roles last week.
And Sheringham and Bridges – who are both aligned to the same management company– could be the duo to take over with the new season just over three weeks away.
“I’m not going to hide the fact that I put my name forward for the job,” Bridges told the Newcastle Herald.
“Whether I have the experience or haven’t, I’ll back myself all the way.
“Then an opportunity came up to join Teddy as a package. It would be silly not to want to work under somebody with his experience and pedigree.
“The Premier League is massive in China, and having two ex-Premier League players might appeal to the Ledman Group, or it might not.”
While Sheringham did it all as a player, winning EPL titles, a Champions League and appearing at two World Cups, he is relatively inexperienced as a manager.
He had a short stint in charge at English League Two club Stevenage last season, managing just seven wins from 33 games and also worked as a strikers coach at West Ham.
Bridges, who has completed his A-Licence, has been an assistant at the Jets in the past and still lives in the Hunter.
“[Sheringham] has been a gaffer over there and has worked under the best manager in the world in Alex Ferguson,” Bridges said.
“There is no doubt that you learn a lot from guys like that. I have spoken to some of the boys at Stevenage. They say he has a good tactical mind and his management is superb.
“His door is always open and he tries to let the lads play with a smile on his face. You can be a tactical genius, but if you haven’t got the dressing room behind you, then the team won’t perform.”
Bridges believes the duo can continue the excellent work Miller had done in his first season, in which the Jets improved from last to eighth and were far more competitive.
“Scott was doing a great job,” Bridges said.
“The players, too, have done an amazing job. What has happened, happens in football. The lads have to maintain focus.
“What they have been doing has been working. They have belief now in the club.”
