Premier League strugglers Hull City last night confirmed that they had sacked manager Mike Phelan after less than three months in the role.

The former Manchester United assistant was originally appointed as caretaker following Steve Bruce’s resignation over the summer, before being given the permanent role back in October.

Despite winning their first two games of the season under Phelan, the 54-year-old then oversaw a run of just one win in 18 Premier League games, culminating in their 3-1 defeat at West Brom on Monday.

Their wretched run of form, despite reaching the semi-finals of the League Cup, means that they sit bottom of the table after 20 matches, three points adrift of safety.

It was always going to be a challenging season for Hull given Bruce’s departure in the summer and the numerous off-the-field issues surrounding the football club, yet they have been poor for a while now, even if this sacking does come as a bit of a surprise.

Nonetheless, attentions now turn to who may replace Phelan in the hot-seat at the KCOM Stadium, and here are THREE managers who could become the next Hull boss…

Alan Pardew

Alan Pardew has only been out of the game for a few weeks after losing his job at Crystal Palace, but could he make a return at Hull?

The former West Ham and Southampton boss has vast amounts of experience in the Premier League, both nearer the top and the bottom, and could go in to the club and get them out of a rut.

As we’ve seen before, Pardew is one of those that can make an instant impact, and also goes on winning streaks – both of which are needed at the KCOM Stadium right now.

Roy Hodgson

Former England manager Roy Hodgson was loosely linked with the Swansea job over Christmas, yet the Welsh side plumped for Paul Clement instead.

Hodgson resigned as the national team manager after their embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Iceland in the last 16 of the European Championships last year, but his Premier League record, and indeed experience, could be perfect for Hull.

The 69-year-old has kept both Fulham and West Brom in the top-flight in recent years, and actually went into the Fulham job at a similar time to now, so has experience of going into a side mid-season and keeping them in the division.

He would be a very shrewd appointment from the Hull hierarchy.

Gary Rowett

One of the leading names for the Hull job is former Birmingham manager Gary Rowett, who was sacked at St Andrew’s on December 14.

The news came as a huge shock to many given the excellent job the 42-year-old had done there, taking them from struggling near the bottom of the Championship to battling for the play-offs (just looking at Birmingham’s results since he was sacked will give you an indication of how good a job he did).

Nonetheless, Rowett could be perfect for Hull given his work on a shoe-string budget at Birmingham, which is similar to Hull’s financial constraints, and also his knowledge and experience in the Championship, should Hull get relegated this season.

Giving a hungry, young, and driven manager like Rowett a chance would be a great long-term option for Hull, but it would also give him the chance to prove himself in the short-term.