Redknapp rubbishes Rovers talk

Former Spurs boss and 8/1 shot with bet365, Harry Redknapp, says he is not in the running to become the next Blackburn manager.

Rovers are looking for a new man to guide them back into the Premier League but Redknapp says it will not be his next job.

He told Sky Sports News: “It’s a good club and it’s a good job for somebody but it’s not one I’ll be pursuing. When we saw the speculation my representative Paul Stretford spoke with them to clear up where it was coming from but it’s not something I would look to do.

“They’re a good club with a good squad and good support but it’s not for me.”

Current Blackpool chief Ian Holloway is the 5/4 favourite with bet365 to take over at Ewood Park.

Elsewhere in the Championship, Sean Dyche is set to become the new Burnley boss while Mick McCarthy is now the strong favourite to take over at Ipswich.

Freedman handed Bolton reigns

Bolton have confirmed Dougie Freedman as the club’s new manager, the 38-year-old claiming he is excited by the challenge the Trotters present (Bolton 9/2 to be promoted with bet365).

Freedman will take charge of his first game this weekend when Bolton travel to the Riverside to face Middlesbrough, a match the visitors are 13/8 to win, with Boro 8/5.

The former Scotland striker will be hoping he can transfer the good work he has done at Crystal Palace in the last 21 months to the Reebok Stadium, where the challenge will be to get the Whites back into the Premier League.

Freedman worked wonders at Selhurst Park, steering the Eagles away from relegation after taking over before steadying the ship and taking the team up to fourth this season on a shoe string budget.

While Owen Coyle failed to achieve his lofty ambitions at Bolton, chairman Phil Gartside is confident Freedman is the right man for the job.

“He has a real drive and passion, and knows what we want to achieve and how we want to go about it. I am looking forward to working with Dougie to secure that,” said Gartside.

Freedman believes Bolton is a Premier  League club and says he is ready to guide them back into the top flight.

“I am delighted to join Bolton. The club is geared up to getting back into the Premier League,” said Freedman. “There is an impressive set-up and structure in place, and a first team squad of undoubted quality.”

Freedman is expected to bring in members of his back room staff from Palace, with assistant manager Lennie Lawrence and first-team coach Curtis Fleming heading to the north-west.

Freedman has flown Eagles nest

Dougie Freedman has left Crystal Palace (8/1 to be promoted with bet365) in order to take the reins at Bolton Wanderers (4/1), the Eagles have confirmed on their website.

The Trotters have been looking for a new manager since sacking Owen Coyle earlier this month after a disappointing start to the Championship season, on the back of relegation from the Premier League last term.

Freedman was appointed at Selhurst Park last January and has won over some admirers after overcoming a similarly slow start this season, to lead Palace up to fourth in the table.

However, the London club has announced that assistant boss Lennie Lawrence and first-team coach Curtis Fleming will be in control of team affairs ahead of Tuesday night’s game at Barnsley (Barnsley 5/4, Draw 12/5, Palace 21/10 Match Betting on bet365).

“Crystal Palace Football Club can confirm that first team manager Dougie Freedman has joined Bolton Wanderers,” a statement on the club’s website read.

“The Board of the Club would like to put on record their thanks to Dougie for all his efforts over the past couple of years and their disappointment over the events of the past few days. The search for a replacement starts immediately.”

Reports suggest that Freedman has signed a three-year deal at the Reebok and will be watching his new Bolton side from the stands at Wolves (Wolves 13/10, Draw 5/2, Bolton 15/8 Match Betting with bet365).

Solksjaer rules out English duo

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is still on offer at 5/1 with bet365 to become the next permanent manager at Bolton, despite him insisting that he will not be leaving Molde before the end of the season.

The former Manchester United star has guided the Norwegian champions to top spot in the league, two points clear of Rosenborg with five games to go.

Solskjaer won the title in his first season at the helm at Molde which has caught the eye of a number of clubs as to his potential as a manager, with Aston Villa speaking to him earlier this year over a potential move.

Bolton decided to part company with Owen Coyle last week and are on the look-out for a new boss, although Solskjaer has moved to distance himself from the vacant position at the Reebok.

“There will always be speculation when someone in England needs a new manager,” Solskjaer told Norwegian newspaper Romsdals Budstikke.

“There are surely 20 names who have been linked with Bolton now and it’s natural that mine is among them. But it’s not for me.

“Blackburn, Bolton, rumours crop up all the time. But I’m not that bothered about them. I’m absolutely certain I will see out the season here (with Molde), I can promise that.”

Mick McCarthy is the current 6/4 favourite to succeed Coyle with Michael Appleton next best at 4/1, ahead of Dougie Freedman at 9/1 and Billy Davies at 10/1.

Tim Sherwood heads the market to become the next Blackburn manager at 8/11 with bet365, ahead of Alan Shearer at 11/2, Solskjaer at 6/1 and McCarthy at 8/1.

Black focused on Wolves win

Blackburn caretaker boss Eric Black insists he is only focused on picking up a win against Wolves at Ewood Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Scot is a 5/1 shot with bet365 to become Steve Kean’s permanent successor following an unbeaten two-game run since he was handed the post on an interim basis.

Kean fell on his sword a fortnight ago and Black has since presided over draws at Charlton and Nottingham Forest.

The former Aberdeen star is now preparing for his first home game in charge and says he is putting thoughts about his long-term future to the back of his mind.

Black said: “It’s about Saturday and as far as I know that’s all I’m doing.

“I really haven’t thought about that (getting the job full-time). I just want to focus on getting a result.

“I’m not daft enough to think that, if we lose on Saturday, two points out of a possible nine is as good for me as five points out of a possible nine.

“However, I’ve got to purely just focus on the team at the moment. That’s all I’ve got to focus on because that’s the short-term impact I can have.”

Former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the 6/4 favourite in the bet365 Next Permanent Manager market while ex-Ewood hero Tim Sherwood, who captained the club to the Premier League title in 1994-95, is a 4/1 chance.

Forest star relaxed despite dip

Nottingham Forest midfielder Chris Cohen insists his side are on the right track, despite successive league defeats (To be promoted – Nottingham Forest 11/2 with bet365).

Forest had enjoyed an unbeaten start to the Championship campaign prior to a 2-1 defeat at Leeds, which was followed by a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of fierce rivals Derby County.

Cohen, however, insists that his side have still made a good start to the season and is confident of success under the guidance of boss Sean O’Driscoll.

“Sean has been great since he came in, he has given players their opportunities,” he told the Nottingham Evening Post.

“Now we need to repay his faith in us by producing more quality.”

Forest face a big test on Wednesday as they host a high-flying Blackburn side, although the Rovers are now somewhat of an unknown quality following the departure of Steve Kean as manager.

Strikers Dexter Blackstock and Simon Cox will be missing for Forest due to suspension, while loan signing Jermaine Jenas is unlikely to feature due to a lack of match fitness.

Adlene Guedioura is still suspended and Marcus Tudgay is injured, meaning loan striker Billy Sharp could be handed a place in the starting XI (match betting – Nottingham Forest 11/8, draw 12/5, Blackburn 15/8 with bet365).

Wolves lose star duo but land defender

Wolves have sold two players and added a centre-half to their ranks after Matt Jarvis and Steven Fletcher sealed moves away and Georg Margreitter signed a four-year deal (Wolves 11/1 – Championship Outright with bet365).

The Molinuex outfit finally decided to cash in on wideman Jarvis, who has joined Premier League returnees West Ham, and Scottish striker Fletcher, who handed in a transfer request in order to join Sunderland.

Wolves boss Stale Solbakken has in turn reinvested some of the reported £22m received for the duo by snapping up Austria Under-21 star Margreitter from Austria Vienna for an undisclosed fee.

Solbakken told Wolves’ website: “Our scouts have been keeping an eye on him and then I spoke to him and I am pleased that we have managed to bring him.

“It is a good signing not only for this season but also for the future because I think he has good years in front of him.”

Wolves entertain Derby in the Championship on Saturday afternoon as they begin life without two mainstays of the side relegated from the Premier League last season (Wolves 4/6, draw 13/5, Derby 17/4 – match betting with bet365).

O’Neill backs Leicester

Former Leicester City manager Martin O’Neill has backed his old club to realise their dream of earning promotion to the Premier League in 2012/13 (Leicester 5/2 to win promotion with bet365).

Many believe that the upcoming campaign provides the Foxes with their best opportunity to date to re-claim their top level status, following relegation to the Football League in the 2003/04 season.

They open their account for the new Championship season with a home match against Peterborough on Saturday (Match Betting – Leicester 8/13, draw 11/4, Peterborough 9/2 with bet365), and current Sunderland boss O’Neill is backing Nigel Pearson’s men to get their promotion push off to a strong start.

“They have the capability to get out of this league, but the league is tough. The main thing for them will be consistency, winning two or three games on the trot,” said the Northern Irishman, who managed Leicester between 1995 and 2000 before moving onto Celtic.

“They’re very strong, very competitive, they’ve got a good manager at the helm and I think things are in place.”

The Foxes’ main rivals for promotion are likely to be the three clubs relegated from the Premier League last season, and, of the trio, it is Bolton who are most hotly fancied to bounce back at the first attempt (Bolton 9/4 to win promotion with bet365).

Leeds United were relegated from the Premier League at the same time as Leicester and they too see 2012/13 as their strongest chance to date of a return to the promised land (Leeds 9/2 to return to the Premier League with bet365).

Championship wide open for Warnock

Leeds United boss Neil Warnock claims the Championship is ‘wide open’ for any team to win this coming season (Leeds 11/1 Outright with bet365), despite acknowledging that the likes of Bolton, Blackburn and Wolves are favourites.

Warnock, who guided QPR to the title in 2011, took over at Elland Road during the second half of last season and guided them to a mid-table finish.

However, he has enjoyed a productive summer with ten new faces joining the Whites to compensate for the loss of Robert Snodgrass to Norwich City.

And Warnock is adamant that his players can be in the promotion shake-up (4/1 To be Promoted with bet365) if he can bring one or two new forward players in before the transfer window closes at the end of this month.

Speaking on Sky Sports News, Warnock said: “I am coming to the twilight of my career and I want to be challenging if we can. I think if we can manage to get another one or two forward players in because I am very happy with the rest of the squad.”

On who will be challenging his Leeds side for a place in the Premier League, Warnock, who has won promotion seven times during his career, added: “I think it is wide open. Bolton, Blackburn and Wolves will have all the money. You then have teams like Leicester City spending a fortune and Cardiff City.

“There will always be those five or six clubs but I think anyone else has an opportunity, I think the league is wide open.

“We have to try to be up there. The club and the fans are geared for it and everyone knows that is where I want to be.”

Mackay pleased with striking options

Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay believes the arrival of new signing Heidar Helguson boosts his side’s promotion hopes (12/1 to win the Championship outright with bet365).

The former Queens Park Rangers striker signed a one-year deal with the Bluebirds this week and takes the tally of forwards at Mackay’s disposal to five. The Iceland international joins Joe Mason, Robert Earnshaw, Rudy Gestede and fellow new signing Etien Velikonja at the Cardiff City Stadium.

The Cardiff boss expects the experienced Helguson to have a good impact on his squad and create fierce competition among the club’s strikers.

“We need to have competition for places. You need the players to be on their toes because they know someone is ready to come in and take their place,” said Mackay.

Helguson, 34, hit nine goals for QPR last season to end the campaign as the club’s top scorer and played a role in the R’s promotion to the Premier League two seasons ago.

He spent time on loan with Watford during the 2009-10 season, when Mackay was in charge at Vicarage Road. Mackay said he was delighted to sign Helguson for a second time.

“He’s a very experienced player. There’s an experience to him and professionalism to him that I know very well, and I think he will be a great addition to our group,” added Mackay.

“He’s very robust, a very good professional, brings high standards with him and certainly has an eye for goal. These are all qualities that attracted me to him.”

Cardiff begin the Championship season at home to newly-promoted Huddersfield Town on August 17 (Cardiff 5/6, draw 12/5, Huddersfield 3/1 Match Betting with bet365).