Carlisle United have identified former Swindon Town head coach Mark Kennedy as a potential option to be their next boss in their hunt for survival.

Mark Williamson was dismissed after just five months in the post at Brunton Park on Monday, with Swindon’s 5-1 thumping of them proving to be the final straw after their run of five defeats in their last six League Two matches.

Carlisle find themselves rooted to the bottom of the table and decided to move on from Williamson despite them bringing in 11 new players for him during the January transfer window.

As they quickly look to bring in a replacement to give the new incumbent the biggest possible chance to keep them in the EFL, Football League World have revealed that Kennedy is in the running for the position.

The Irishman has been without a job since he left Swindon in October having picked up just two league wins during his 13 games in the dugout at The Nigel Eady County Ground and with the club in 22nd place in League Two.

Whilst former Northampton Town boss Jon Brady is also a contender, Jon Coleman of the News and Star is now reporting that Mark Hughes is the current frontrunner to be Carlisle’s next manager and he is also odds on with the bookmakers.

The former Manchester City and Wales manager has been out of work since leaving Bradford City last season and would provide a wealth of experience having managed almost 700 games, the vast majority of which have come in the Premier League.

Hughes managed to take Bradford to the playoffs during his only full season at The University of Bradford Stadium, where he lost against Carlisle in the semi-finals, but was dismissed in October 2023 after a poor start to the season had The Bantams in 18th place.

Coleman has reported that Carlisle would like to have a new head coach in place by the time they play an out-of-sorts Grimsby Town side this weekend to not waste any time in arresting their current slide and pushing closer to survival.

The Cumbrians are in the thick of the relegation battle, with them now five points adrift of safety having only been relegated from League One last season, whilst Swindon’s win over Carlisle last weekend sent them 14 points above the drop zone and only ten points off the playoff places.