Johnson clear favourite for Barnsley post

Photo: VINCENT BROWN

MUCH TO CONSIDER: Lee Johnson will have a huge decision to make if Barnsley are given permission to speak to him with a view to becoming their next manager.

ATHLETIC could lose manager Lee Johnson after Sky Bet League One rivals Barnsley made a formal approach to talk to him over their vacant managerial position.

An Athletic club source issued a firm “no comment” to the Chronicle when asked if Johnson would be granted permission to speak to officials at Oakwell.

When contacted, Johnson stressed that he is content at SportsDirect.com Park, preparing his side for the trip to Leyton Orient on Saturday as usual, and that it is the board’s decision over how to deal with the request.

But the Athletic boss — whose side dropped to seventh after last night’s games — clearly tops the short list at a club which sacked Danny Wilson and his assistant Chris Hutchings last week.

A reported swoop by Barnsley for Swindon manager Mark Cooper was rebuffed earlier this week by the Wiltshire club and ex-Athletic boss John Sheridan, now at Plymouth, has played down speculation linking him to the job.

The Tykes, with the fifth-highest wage bill in the division, would be unlikely to baulk at paying compensation for Johnson, who is contracted to Athletic until the summer of 2018.

Barnsley were relegated from the Championship last season and languished 19th in the league. They were beaten 5-1 by lowly Crawley at the weekend — a result that saw the board refund travelling supporters.

Johnson, described last season by his chairman Simon Corney as “by far the best manager I have had”, is the third-youngest boss in the Football League.

Despite the huge furore over the controversial chase for Ched Evans, his side have been relatively successful this season and retain hopes of a top-six finish.

If he does depart, Athletic’s board would be in the difficult position of finding a new manager to keep them in the promotion hunt.

As of this morning, Johnson was odds-on favourite at 1-3, with Sean O’Driscoll 5-1 and Craig Hignett 6-1.