Neil Lennon: Bolton Wanderers manager leaves by mutual consent

Former Bolton striker Kevin Davies, who played 407 games during a 10-year spell with the Trotters, said Phillips has little time to prove himself as a permanent replacement, while Southend manager Phil Brown – who was among the first to be linked with the vacant job – would find it difficult to turn down an offer.

Brown, 56, is a former Bolton player and worked under both Colin Todd and Sam Allardyce at the club. He also had a stint as caretaker boss of Wanderers in 1999, winning four of the six games he was in charge of.

“I know Jimmy would be keen to take the job full-time, so it’ll be interesting to see how he does but I think they’ve probably left it a little bit too late,” Davies told BBC Radio 5 live.

“If they did make an approach [for Brown] I think he would be interested. His family’s still up here and it’s obviously a very big football club.”

Prior to his arrival at Bolton, Lennon won three Scottish league titles and two Scottish Cups with Celtic, as well as leading the Hoops to a famous victory over Barcelona on their way to the last 16 of the Champions League in 2012-13.