Dean Smith joins Aston Villa: The candidates for the Brentford vacancy
Aston Villa moved swiftly to fill the managerial vacancy at the club as they appointed Dean Smith late on Wednesday night.
Smith was installed as Sky Bet's 11/4 favourite when Bruce was sacked last week, although he did drift out to as big as 18/1 at one point.
He'll be joined by John Terry who becomes the club's new assistant manager, with reports suggesting that he was set for that role regardless of who became the new head coach.
We look at some of the candidates to become the new Brentford manager, alongside odds from EFL title sponsor Sky Bet.
Thomas Frank
Sky Bet odds - 1/4
The heavy favourite is Thomas Frank, with some reports suggesting that Brentford may recruit from within as they aim to keep up their good start to the season.
Frank is the man tasked with taking training and preparing for their next game against Bristol City on October 20, although the team will have this weekend off due to the international break.
Sky Sports say that Frank is in contention for the job and the Bees have no concerns with letting him take charge of that contest.
They also report that the players will be addressed on the situation at Jersey Road on Thursday before being given time off over the next couple of days.
The 45-year-old has a good managerial CV having overseen the Denmark national side at U16, U17 and U19 level.
He would then spend three years as Brondby in Denmark, guiding them to the Europa League on both occasions after finishing in the top-four of the division.
During his time there, Frank would post a 44.7% win ratio with 46 wins from 103 games.
Danny Cowley
Sky Bet odds - 12/1
He is one of the more highly-regarded managers in the Sky Bet EFL, and Danny Cowley finds himself as second-favourite to take over at Brentford.
Cowley could be a similar appointment to Smith, looking to the divisions below with the aim of picking up someone who is enjoying success at their current club.
Lincoln is just his third club of his managerial career, and every side he has taken charge of has seen significant improvement.
He guided Concord Rangers from the Essex Senior Football League to the National League South and the first round proper of the FA Cup during an eight-year spell before departing for Braintree in 2015.
A 49/1% win ratio helped Braintree secure their highest-ever finish in the National League, before being defeated in the play-off semi-final. At Lincoln, he took them back to the Football League while also beating Ipswich, Brighton and Burnley in the FA Cup.
To the present day, his win ratio at Lincoln stands at an astonishing 57%.
Michael Appleton
Sky Bet odds - 14/1
Michael Appleton is also in the market after he left Leicester following a coaching restructure in June.
Appleton had a tough run at Portsmouth following his departure from West Brom, posting just 13 wins in 51 games as the club battled to keep afloat during financial crisis.
His spell at Blackpool lasted 12 matches, the shortest-serving manager in the club’s history, with a 16.7% win ratio.
He departed for Blackburn, guiding them to a victory over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in an FA Cup Fifth Round clash, but left 67 days later with the club 18th in the Sky Bet Championship standings.
His managerial career picked up during a lengthy spell at Oxford United. During his three years at the club, Appleton guided them to League Two promotion and Football League Trophy success.
He would also take them to Wembley again, this time as EFL Trophy runners-up, whilst also narrowly missing out on a spot in the League One play-offs the season after.
Following Craig Shakespeare’s departure from the Foxes in October 2017, Appleton took caretaker charge and won games against Swansea City and Leeds United before the arrival of Claude Puel.
Nathan Jones
Sky Bet odds - 16/1
Similar to Cowley, if Brentford wanted to follow a model of appointing someone from the lower leagues than Nathan Jones is a prime candidate.
Luton remains his only full-time role in management following a brief caretaker spell at Brighton back in 2014.
Having joined the Hatters in January 2016, Jones' guidance would help them avoid relegation with 11 wins from 21 games, eventually finishing in 11th.
The following season, they would spend just one week outside of the top-seven as Luton finished 4th. However, a 6-5 aggregate defeat to Blackpool in the play-off semi-final meant that they missed out on promotion.
The 2017/18 season was a remarkable one for Jones and his side. They finished second in England's fourth tier with 88 points, scoring 94 goals and posting a +48 goal difference.
An 8-2 win over Yeovil, alongside a 7-1 victory against Stevenage and a 7-0 hammering of Cambridge were the highlights of that campaign, as they rivalled Pep Guardiola's Manchester City for the top scorers in England honour.
This season sees Luton sit 8th in League One, with 17 goals from 12 games despite recently joining the division.
Given their attacking quality in recent seasons, Jones may be a great fit for Brentford based on the entertaining and attacking style of football they played under their last manager.
From a personal point of view, Jones would be my choice for this vacancy.
Sam Allardyce
Sky Bet odds - 16/1
A name well known amongst English football fans, Allardyce implements an effective style of football.
The 63-year-old guided Everton to a top-half finish last season despite flirting with relegation during the early part of the campaign, before the Toffees elected to hand Marco Silva the job in the summer.
Allardyce has success at this level on his CV after guiding Bolton to the top flight in 2001 and more recently West Ham in 2012 – both through the play-offs. He would go onto manage Sunderland and Crystal Palace in the Premier League alongside a short stint as England boss.
He is someone who has been heavily praised by former players for his preparation for matches and his use of sport science to try and get the best out of players – but Jose Mourinho did label his football ‘from the 19th century’ when his Chelsea side faced the Hammers in January 2014.
The outsiders
Former Swansea and Sheffield Wednesday manager Carlos Carvalhal finds himself at 18/1 in the market after he took the Owls to the play-offs twice during his three seasons at the club.
Rui Faria is also at 18/1 having kicked off the market as 7/1 favourite. He was recently linked with Aston Villa but reportedly turned down any opportunity to take over in the West Midlands.
David Moyes is priced at 20/1 as he looks to return to management. He posted a 28.6% win ratio at Real Sociedad, while that figure stood at 18.6% at Sunderland and 29% at West Ham.
Wigan boss Paul Cook is available at 28/1, with former West Brom boss Alan Pardew and current Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder at 33s.
Follow Sporting Life on social media - find us on Facebook here or tweet @SportingLifeFC
Odds correct at 0940 BST on 11/10/18