By Jonathan Stevenson

Nottingham Forest boss Paul Hart and Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock are the two favourites to take over from Peter Reid as the manager of Leeds United.

Warnock, Hart wait on Leeds

But should either of them take the reigns at the troubled Elland Road club, could they reasonably be expected to keep the Premiership's basement boys in the top flight?

With Hart's ability for grooming young players and Warnock's talent for inspiring team spirit, Leeds face a direct choice over the type of man they want at the helm.

Paul Hart - The youth supremo

PAUL HART'S CV Academy coach: Leeds (1992-97), Forest (1997-2001) Manager: Chesterfield (1988-1991), Forest (2001-) Young player success: Paul Robinson, Jonathan Woodgate, Alan Smith, Harry Kewell, Jermaine Jenas, David Prutton, Michael Dawson, Andy Reid

Hart gained his reputation as a superb youth coach during his spell as Leeds' Academy chief in the mid-1990s, nurturing the likes of Paul Robinson, Harry Kewell, Jonathan Woodgate and Alan Smith at Elland Road.

In 1997 he left Leeds and took on the same job at Forest, becoming manager in July 2001 when David Platt was named England Under-21 coach.

Hart handed regular starting berths to the likes of David Prutton, Jermaine Jenas and Michael Dawson and they responded with some fine displays under the man who had run the rule over their footballing education.

In a situation alarmingly familiar to the one he could find himself in at Elland Road, Hart decided to dispense with the overpaid, underperforming players and threw the young players he knew so well into the first team.

But - to sound a note of caution to anyone at Elland Road looking for a miracle worker - he did not find success overnight.

Hart refused to weigh his players down with expectation and instead allowed them to develop by making mistakes and learning the game the hard way.

The 50-year-old's reputation for gradually bringing the best out of youngsters is right up there with the very best in British football.

But Hart must realise that should he take the reigns at Elland Road, time is one commodity he will simply not be afforded.

Neil Warnock - The master motivator

NEIL WARNOCK'S CV Manager: Scarborough (1986-89), Notts County (1989-93), Huddersfield(1993-95), Plymouth (1995-97), Oldham (1997-98), Bury (1998-99), Sheff Utd (1999-) Bargain boys: Dean Kiely, Tommy Johnson, Craig Short, Mark Draper, Michael Brown, Michael Tonge, Peter Ndlovu

The brash, outspoken Yorkshireman is the chalk to Hart's cheese.

Should Leeds decide they want a man who will not suffer fools gladly and will immediately stamp his authority on the place, there are few better qualified than Sheffield United manager Warnock.

The 54-year-old has spent 17 years in management with eight different clubs and has gained a reputation as a wheeler-dealer in the transfer market.

Warnock took over as Scarborough boss in 1986, quickly brought in 15 new players and just 10 months later won the Conference to make the Seasiders the first club to win automatic promotion to the Football League.

Warnock earned two promotions with Notts County, and he did so by handing first-team chances to the likes of Tommy Johnson, Mark Draper and Craig Short, who he took with him from Scarborough.

Warnock's record with youngsters can not match Hart's, but his ability to get the best out of ostensibly ordinary players is a skill badly required at Elland Road these days.

He has produced performances from Tony Agana, Robert Page and Peter Ndlovu when others have found it more difficult, and he does so by forming a bond between the players and motivating them into an effective unit.

When he signed those 15 players for Scarborough he called them a "collection of rejects and mis-fits that nobody else wanted".

A similar display of candid talking may be what the fans want to hear at Leeds, but will it really work on Mark Viduka? Perhaps time will tell.