Could Huddersfield Town be the club to finally give Billy McKinlay his break into football management?

The current Northern Ireland No2 and former Scotland international has both played under, and worked alongside, some big names.

And it’s been suggested Town are interested in the former Fulham coach as they continue the search for Mark Robins’ successor.

McKinlay is a Scot through and through, but it’s England boss Roy Hodgson who has been one of his biggest influences.

The 45-year-old Glaswegian was a Blackburn Rovers player when Hodgson was manager at Ewood Park, then teamed up with him at Fulham.

“Working with Roy was fantastic,” he said in an interview in 2010, when Fulham finished seventh in the top flight and reached the Europa League final.

“Away from coaching and tactics, his patience was a huge thing. He has the ability to take a step back from a situation and analyse it rather than make a decision on the back of emotion.

“Roy had also been my manager at Blackburn. I was fortunate enough to have the benefit of his coaching as a player, and when I got into coaching, I’d phone him up to pick his brain.

“When he came to Fulham (in 2007) it was even more of an education to listen to him every day. I was learning from the master.”

Brought to Fulham as a player-coach by Chris Coleman in 2004, McKinlay also worked with Lawrie Sanchez, Ray Lewington, Mark Hughes and Martin Jol.

He followed Jol out of Craven Cottage last December, when Rene Muelensteen wanted to bring in his own backroom staff.

As a player, midfielder McKinlay came through the ranks at Dundee United, where the formidable Jim McLean moulded a side to challenge the Old Firm and Aberdeen.

He made a £1.75m move to Blackburn Rovers in 1995, and later had a spell in West Yorkshire with Bradford City.

McKinlay, who also played for Clydebank and Leicester City and won 29 caps, joined the Northern Ireland set-up early in 2012.

He retained his position at Fulham, linking up with Irish boss Michael O’Neill, a former Dundee United teammate, during international breaks.

Chris Powell and Neil Lennon, who is also being strongly linked with Crystal Palace, remain the bookies’ favourites for the Town job.