Report: Former Portsmouth, Wigan and Ipswich manager Paul Cook not an option for vacant Barnsley job as Cheltenham and Burton bosses emerge as front-runners

The Sheffield Star have today reported that the 55-year-old – who is currently in charge of non-league Chesterfield – did not make the Tykes’ shortlist of candidates, despite sources claiming he was one of five names in the running for the job.

That rules out another potential reunion with the Blues next season in League One.

Two potential options that are being mulled over, however, are presently at third-tier clubs.

Indeed, Cheltenham’s Michael Duff and Burton head coach Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink remain the two front-runners to land the position.

Barnsley chief executive Khaled El-Ahmed revealed talks have taken place with a number of potential managerial candidates as they continue to find Poya Asbaghi’s replacement.

He said: ‘There’s three buckets (of candidates); one is very experienced, one is the up and coming that maybe doesn’t have a lot of managerial experience and the other is what I call a solid option that has some seasons behind them.

‘We have interviewed and spoken to all variations, which hopefully will lead us to the one we think is the best fit.

‘We also want a manager that wants to come to Barnsley. During the process, someone might be excited and enticed about the job but then you find out that they don’t really want to be here.’

Cook remains in charge of the Spireites, who were eliminated from the National League play-offs on Sunday following a 3-1 defeat to Solihull Moors.

The Liverpudlian man made a shock return to the Technique Stadium in February with the aim of masterminding a return to the EFL.

The 55-year-old’s last League One job came at Ipswich, where he was sacked just nine months into his tenure at Portman Road.

He left the big-spending outfit 11th in the table, with probably his most memorable moment coming in a 4-0 win over Danny Cowley’s Pompey in October.

Cook guided the Blues to the 2016-17 League Two title.