AFTER this week's dismissal of manager Graham Barrow the big question now hanging over Gigg Lane is who will replace him writes PHIL THORP.

The three man board of Iain Mills, Ian Harrop and Jim Lomas were this week drawing up a picture of the kind of manager capable of taking the club forward.

Will it be an older hand who has had previous experience of managing at the Shakers' level or will they go for a forward-thinking younger coach out to make a mark on the game?

Either way it will be crucial that they get the right man, capable of lifting the club up the division from their parlous second-from-bottom spot.

Two men who have already thrown their hats into the ring are from the latter group and both are popular former players.

Peter Farrell was a talented and skilful midfielder who came through the ranks during Bobby Smith's reign during the late 1970s.

For the last few years he has been an assistant director of Bolton Wanderers' successful academy scheme and he is thought to be keen the chance to get the chance to manage his former club.

Meanwhile, another ex-Shaker who would relish the chance to get his feet under the desk at Gigg is Paul Hilton.

A classy striker who was eventually converted to centre-half, Hilton was transferred to West Ham United in the early 1980s and spent the rest of his playing career at Upton Park.

He eventually went into coaching and has recently been involved with the Ipswich Town youth side that won the FA Youth Cup last season.

The Gigg Lane letterbox will have been kept busy by scores of other applications from managers and coaches eager to get back into the game.

One name that keeps cropping up on the supporters' internet messageboards is that of another ex-Bury player, Sammy McIlroy.

Northern Ireland legend McIlroy has been out of the game since being leaving Edgeley Park last November.

Other possibilities are the relatively unknown Steve Burr who, in difficult circumstances, has impressed a lot of people during his spell as manager of Northwich Victoria and former Shaker Ronnie Jepson who followed ex-boss Stan Ternent to Gillingham last year and is currently number two to the now Gills supremo Neale Cooper.

However, although some Shakers fans would give their right arm to see Sir' Stanley back at Gigg after his immensely successful reign in the 1990s the chances of that are pretty remote.

In his autobiography, he humorously lambasted the club for their hand-to-mouth existence while he was in charge last time, and that was WITH majority shareholder Hugh Eaves' money to spend!