Big Ron: It's Gordon Strachan or Neil Warnock for me

Ron Atkinson knows what it takes to keep a team up, he gives Martin Swain his take on the contenders for the Wolves job:

Ron Atkinson knows a thing or two about rescue operations and is convinced Wolves still have what it takes to save their Premier League status.

And the former boss and Shropshire Star pundit believes Gordon Strachan and Neil Warnock remain the best picks from the available field to take on the role of 'impact manager' as Molineux focuses on a new boss to launch a rescue operation.

Wolves are third from bottom but in a five-team group of strugglers separated by just two points. With 13 games to go, Mick McCarthy's successor has just enough time to engineer a revival which could yet keep the club in the top flight.

It's a situation the former Albion, Manchester United and Villa boss knows too well from his own career. Atkinson was summoned by Coventry, Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest in similar circumstances and pulled off famous revivals with the first two.

And surveying the Wolves scenario today, 'Big Ron' concluded: "The biggest thing in Wolves' favour is that there is still a group of clubs threatened and closely-packed together.

"With their results, you might normally expect them to be cut from the pack. But that isn't the case. Alright, the teams from sixth bottom upwards you would say are currently out of reach. But you never know what might happen with them, either.

"Nor do I think this fabled '40 points for safety' will apply. I reckon you could end up surviving with a mid-30 points total. That is not beyond Wolves. QPR haven't stretched away as many might have expected.

"There is hope there. Someone has to go in there and get the players whipped up and get the fans whipped up as well – let them be in no doubt how important they are."

So what would be his advice to the man stepping into the job?

"The first thing he has to do is give the players a lift," he said. "They can't get new players. He's got to get the maximum he can from the existing players.

"I think those boys have been putting it all in – it's not a question of demanding more effort. It's got to be about changing the system, giving them a fresh belief.

"It's like the start of a fresh league season so give the players fresh targets. They are in a five-team mini-league to start with – pin that up in the dressing room with everyone on zero and say: 'Right, let's see if we can top this.'

"But most of the work has got to be done on the training pitch. Make sure the players know the system.

"It's not a lost cause. It is 'do-able.' A fresh voice may not be saying anything that different from Mick McCarthy but coming from a different man may be all that they need.

"First things first and that's to make sure they don't get beat. Get something out of that game at Newcastle and go from there – that's a big one because it can give the boys a little bit of belief to go on."

There was a time, of course, when Atkinson would have been the perfect man for the urgent scenario now facing Wolves but I wondered what he made of some of the candidates – both among the favourites and lower down the bookies' pecking order – being discussed now?

"Well, Alan Curbishley I worry about in terms of whether or not he knows the club, the area and the fans," says Atkinson. "I know he has played in the Midlands but he has only managed in London.

"Having said that, he knows the pressures of relegation. He's very studious – but whether he would be an impact manager I'm not sure. He might be one for the longer term."

Neil Warnock? "Funny enough I wonder if he might be just what they need. I know he's not everyone's favourite and his record isn't great. But he's always been swimming upstream and he is used to these situations.

"There won't be any dull moments, that's for sure, although he can alienate people just as easily as embrace them. But I would back him to make some sort of impact.

"I can't back Steve Bruce with any great confidence. He's a personable guy who lost six on the bounce before leaving Blues and went off a hero. He's had quite a long losing spell now and you wonder if that has left its mark."

What about some of the more fanciful outsiders? Could Atkinson see any merit in some of the more exotic names on the list.

"Gianfranco Zola? Great player – one of my all time favourites and he was harshly treated at West Ham. If this was the start of the season he would be a bold and imaginative choice. But I am not sure he is the figure you need for a dogfight."

But also among the outsiders is a man Atkinson knows well and one he believes could be just the ticket for Wolves – Gordon Strachan.

"Yep – 'Strach' must be considered – he comes into the Warnock category. He would be capable of getting players fired up.

"His greatest strength is in training players – he would have an impact. He has experience of big-match situations at Celtic and he will work hard and make sure everybody is very, very fit.

"He will work them hard on the training ground. Sometimes you might question his buying, as was the case at Middlesbrough of course, but that doesn't come into play in this scenario.

"Push me into a corner and I would go for either Strachan or Warnock because of their potential to bring an immediate impact. And that's what Wolves need right now."

See also:

• Who will replace Mick McCarthy at Molineux?

• Wolves chief Steve Morgan flies in as Alan Curbishley tops list

• Jez Moxey eyeing short-term fix for Wolves