Barnsley FC confirm talks with two League One managers and rule out former Portsmouth boss

Barnsley CEO Khaled El-Ahmad confirmed the club remains in talks with the pair, who are both currently in post at Burton Albion and Cheltenham Town respectively.

The Reds, who parted ways with Poya Asbaghi after their relegated from the Championship last term, want a new head coach in place before June 13 or the beginning of pre-season one week later.

Chesterfield boss Paul Cook has not been considered, El-Ahmad confirmed.

All of the remaining candidates are British.

Barnsley’s last six head coaches have been foreign appointments, but El-Ahmad said the club has not changed its recruitment strategy.

He told a press conference on Tuesday afternoon: “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."

El-Ahmad added: “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.”

The club do want to continue with a head coach model, El-Ahmad said.

"What we want to build is stability on the field as well. So when a manager or coach comes in, when they leave, it doesn’t disrupt everything.

"The structure of Barnsley, call it ‘The Barnsley Way’, has to provide stability.”