THE Swindon Town board are faced with one of their most important decisions in years with the appointment of the next manager, who will be handed the task of masterminding an immediate return to League One.

Plenty of names have been linked with the vacant position since Paul Hart left the club last Thursday, and we at the Advertiser assess six potential candidates and the qualities they would bring if appointed.

The appointment of PAUL BODIN would be seen as something of a gamble given his lack of experience at managing at this level, but he would still likely be a popular choice among Swindon fans given his history with the club.

The former Wales international has worked behind the scenes at the County Ground for the past decade, managing the club's youth and reserves team and his knowledge of Town is second to none.

He meets the remit set by interim chairman Jeremy Wray of being passionate about Swindon Town and having the interests of the club ahead of his own, but his lack of experience could hold him back.

A former Town trainee and the son of a Swindon legend, PAUL TROLLOPE spent five years as manager of Bristol Rovers, guiding them to promotion from League Two back in 2007.

Trollope then stabilised the Pirates in League One with three mid-table finishes but was sacked in December last year after the club made a poor start to the season.

Other notable achievements while with Rovers include taking them to the quarter finals of the FA Cup in 2008 as well as an appearance at Wembley for the final of the Football League Trophy.

Trollope has been spotted at a couple of Town games in recent months and he certainly boasts a wealth of experience at League Two level, but whether he would be welcomed by the majority of fans remains to be seen.

The 55-year-old RICHARD MONEY has good pedigree in the lower leagues of English football and his most notable achievement was to take Walsall to the League Two title four years ago.

Money then established Walsall in League One but left in 2008 after failing to reach the play-offs with the Saddlers.

The former Fulham defender later became manager of non-league side Luton Town and at one stage took them on a superb run of seven wins from eight games but left following a fall out with a section of the fans.

While he has the credentials, handing Money the job would go against interim chairman Jeremy Wray's desire to appoint someone who is passionate about Swindon and who would be putting the club’s advancement ahead of their own career.

DENNIS WISE had a short spell as Swindon manager when the club was last relegated to the Football League's basement division five years ago.

With the help of Gus Poyet, Wise engineered Town's fine start to the campaign that set them up for an eventual immediate return to League One.

The former Chelsea midfielder has been out of the game since leaving his executive role at Newcastle in 2009 and may be keen to make a return to management.

Much like Money, though, Wise would be highly unlikely to stick around should he have any success with the club, meaning such an appointment would depend on how flexible interim chairman Jeremy Wray is regarding the manager's passion for Swindon Town.

PAUL BUCKLE, the current manager of Torquay United was instrumental in taking the club back into the Football League last season and has them firmly in contention for a place in the League Two play-offs this year.

Torquay have improved year on year since the 40-year-old was named manager four years ago and is undoubtedly one of the most promising young managers in the game.

Contracted to Plainmoor until November 2011 it is highly unlikely the club will relinquish his services without a fight and his lack of any previous connections to Swindon may also be seen as a disadvantage.

ROBBIE FOWLER might be a long shot but the Liverpool legend has made plenty of noises recently of wanting to get into management, and that he is prepared to start in the lower leagues.

Fowler last month spent time as part of the backroom staff wth Bury and MK Dons and, at 35-years-old, he is approaching the end of his playing career.

The striker has verbally agreed to stay on at current club Perth Glory next season but nothing has been signed yet, suggesting he may well be open to management now if approached.

Taking the risk on a footballer coming to the end of his playing career has paid off before for Town when Glenn Hoddle was appointed, and that fact could tempt the Town board to take such a route once again.