The Championship is renowned for being an incredibly difficult league to get out of, and this year will be no different. You only have to look at the likes of Derby County who've spent a serious amount of money recruiting Premiership-quality players to make a challenge for promotion this season, to realise how competitive it will be this campaign.
After securing the services of Premier League stalwarts like Darren Bent, Chris Baird, Scott Carson and Andi Weimann, the club recently announced that they had also signed the reliable Jason Shackell from Burnley. And with Middlesborough also outlaying a considerable amount of money, most notably on Ex-England winger Stewart Downing, this year's league looks like it will be more exciting than ever.
However, on a managerial side, it seems like the bulk of the chairman's are putting their trust in younger and more cutting-edge coaches in a bid to bring a more cultured approach to English football's second tier. So, with that in mind we thought we'd divulge 5 of the most exciting young managers plying their trade in the Championship this year.
1. Paul Clement (DERBY)
As Carlo Ancelotti's understudy at both PSG and Real Madrid, there isn't much that Clement hasn't experienced in his short time as coach. Add to the fact that he spent time at Chelsea as well – where he first met Ancelotti – it seems as if Clement has quite an impressive CV thus far.
The Derby position however, is Clement's first managerial job, and as his predecessor Steve McClaren learned, getting out the Championship isn't easy. What will go in Clement's favour though is the pedigree of players he's already been able to bring into the iPro Stadium. Add this to Clement's innovative and cultured training methods, and most would expect Derby to challenging for automatic promotion, come May.
2. Gary Rowett (BIRMINGHAM)
After gaining promotion with Burton Albion, Rowett's credentials were thrust into the media spotlight. Rowett's always been a favourite at St. Andrews, so when the job came available, he was an educated choice for the vacant managers job. In his full season as manager, he's set for a testing campaign with the Blues budget greatly reduced compared to yesteryear. If he manages to secure a mid-table finish, Rowett will have done a very commendable job to steady the ship at the Midlands club.
3. Uwe Rosler (LEEDS)
After ruthlessly sacking Neil Redfearn from the Leeds hot seat, fiery and unpredictable Italian owner Massimo Cellino handed ex-Manchester City cult hero Uwe Rosler the manager's job at Elland Road. And this could arguably be one of the most difficult jobs in the division trying to orchestrate some sort of normality back into the fallen giants.
Firstly, Rosler will have to deal with a large number of players who are simply not good enough to play for Leeds. Secondly, he will have to build relations with a chairman who is quicker to weald the axe than put an arm round the shoulder, and finally bring some sort of accomplishment to a season most critics have already written off for the Yorkshire club. If Rosler can steer Leeds to a mid-table finish while blooding many of the side's young talents, it will be deemed a successful season at Elland Road.
4. Aitor Karanka (MIDDLESBOROUGH)
The ex-Real Madrid and Spain international cut his teeth looking after his national team's Under-16 team. After receiving acclaim for his creative and thorough coaching methods, Karanka took over from Tony Mowbary in November 2013. Since then he has instilled his brand of free-flowing football philosophies on the side and managed to take Boro to a respectable finishing place in 2014/15. They also had the meanest defence in the league, conceding only 37 goals in 46 league matches.
Experts are predicting a serious title challenge this year with rumours spreading that Boro are looking to add the prolific Jordan Rhodes to the team before the season starts.
5. Chris Ramsey (QPR)
In his first stint as a manager, Ramsey saw his QPR side relegated from the Premier League last season. However, this hasn't stopped his peers rallying behind the young manager. In Tony Fernandes, Ramsey has a chairman who will back him with everything he's got but arguably his biggest job will be offloading many of QPR's biggest earners.
Promotion is a must for QPR so that they don't fall further into a financial hole. It's a bold move by Fernandes to back such an inexperienced manager and only time will tell whether it was the right move or not.