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Bristol City have a contingency plan should head coach Lee Johnson be whisked away by another club.

Bristol Live understands that U23s coach Luke Williams is on a rolling one-year contract and has a clause in his deal meaning that he must give a year's notice before being allowed to depart Ashton Gate, should he ever wish to.

That means that Williams will likely remain in charge of the Young Robins for some time unless serious compensation is paid out by another interested club.

However, because of that formalised arrangement, current U23s boss Williams has missed out on two jobs that have been offered his way since he has been in charge of the Bristol City Development Squad.

(Image: JMP UK 2019)

Southend United were linked with Williams back in April and the managerial post has again become vacant, after Kevin Bond departed Roots Hall at the weekend.

Williams' contract means that he is highly unlikely to depart Ashton Gate, though, and the former Swindon Town boss continues his good work with the next generation of Robins players, work that is highly regarded and has seen interest develop in the former FA Skills Coach.

Crucially, it also means that the club have a ready-made coach with senior experience should Bristol City lose Lee Johnson at any stage.

Johnson is settled in the South West and is highly unlikely to move to any other clubs in the next years, however, Bristol Live understands that Watford considered Johnson for their managerial post before Quique Sanchez Flores was reappointed at the weekend.

No move was made by the Hornets and the Premier League side may never have moved beyond discussing the current City head coach at board room level, but we understand that Johnson's name was mentioned by one key party.

And indeed in the last year, Johnson has been linked with the Aston Villa, West Brom and Fulham jobs as they became available.

(Image: Robbie Stephenson/JMP)

However, Williams' contract means that should Johnson ever depart and take Dean Holden - formerly head coach at Oldham Athletic back in 2015 - with him, then Bristol City would have Luke Williams in place to step into the hotseat temporarily at Ashton Gate until a new long-term appointment was made, if one was to be made.

Jamie McAllister would likewise be in contention for promotion and retention, unless the former left-back moved on too.

Speaking to the One Stream in Bristol fans podcast recently, club chairman Jon Lansdown explained what the club's philosophy is and any future City head coach would have to match those aims.

"We're in a position now where if you ever have a managerial change in the future we know exactly what we're looking for, and it fits into everything else... the infrastructure we have around it. So we'd be looking for a particular type of coach," he said.

"It's taken a long time to get to that point. What you don't want is to be ripping it all up and starting again. You want to be making small adjustments.

"So the rest of your staff are key and stay," explained Lansdown, saying that West Brom have a system where a new head coach would arrive with a +1, with the rest of the backroom staff remaining the same.