Dundee United have at this time confirmed the departure of supervisor Tam Courts.
The Tannadice boss left his function by mutual consent after expressing his want to discover different choices outdoors of Scottish soccer.
Courts has been in talks with Croatian aspect Rijeka over the previous week.
The 40-year-old gaffer led United to their greatest positioned Scottish Premiership end in 9 years final season, securing a return to Europe within the course of.
Dundee United sporting director Tony Asghar insists the Tayside outfit are transferring shortly to nominate a successor, with the appointment already within the superior phases and prone to come within the subsequent few days.
However who's prone to fill the emptiness?
Report Sport have taken a have a look at some attainable candidates...
Jack Ross
The ex-Hibs and St Mirren boss has been linked with a lot of vacancies since leaving Easter Highway.
The 46-year-old was closely linked to United's Tayside rivals Dundee following the departure of Mark McGhee however the boyhood Dundee fan withdrew from the method earlier than Gary Bowyer was appointed.
Ross was sacked by Hibs in December 2021, after a run of seven defeats in 9 league video games.
Now that the Tannadice function has opened up, Ross is believed to see it as the proper alternative to get again into administration.
Courtroom has constructed strong foundations for any new man to construct on, and a return to Europa Convention League motion for Ross will possible enchantment. He took Hibs to the Continent final season, beating FC Santa Coloma earlier than, paradoxically, going out to Courts' potential new employers, Rijeka.
United's ambition will likely be to compete for third, fourth and the European locations regularly. Ross did that in a single full season at Hibs, and the consensus was that he would have once more had Ron Gordon not pulled the set off final winter.
On paper, the standout candidate for the place United are proper now.
Malky MacKay
Mackay was beforehand linked with the job at Tannadice and was the bookmakers' favorite.
A advantageous season accountable for Ross County had a number of golf equipment sitting as much as take discover, and McKay was linked with the Hibs job earlier than Lee Johnson landed the Easter Highway gig.
The previous Cardiff boss would've include baggage anyway, however the Staggies and United weren't precisely better of buddies final time period.
Courts made a degree of holding up a 'Present Racism the Pink Card' t-shirt after former United midfielder Jeando Fuch was allegedly abused by a Ross County.
MacKay described the transfer as "pre-meditated" and accused his counterpart of "leaping the gun".
Then got here the Dundee United pitch invasion in the course of the ultimate sport of the season.
Nicky Clark's stoppage time winner secured fourth place for United, and the travelling followers spilled on to the pitch in celebration.
McKay insisted afterwards "lives had been at risk" consequently, after flares and smoke bombs had been additionally thrown.
From a purely footballing perspective, McKay would appear to tick quite a lot of containers, however whether or not he'd show a preferred appointment with the Tannadice trustworthy is open to debate.
Charlie Mulgrew
The previous Celtic defender proved to be an necessary chief on the pitch final season, however do United see him as a profitable certainly one of it at this stage?
The centre again was the elder statesmen in an typically youthful United aspect, main by instance and guiding their younger stars by means of matches.
Whether or not he would wish to hand over enjoying for the dugout simply but, who is aware of? And his affect within the coronary heart of defence and within the dressing room amongst his friends might to too useful for Tony Asghar to transition the Scotland worldwide from one of many lads to being the boss ... for now.
Kevin Thomson
Like Courts, Thomson made his identify as a supervisor with Kelty Hearts. Nonetheless, the previous Rangers and Hibs midfielder did so at a better degree with the Fife membership as they ran away with the League Two title final season.
Thomson was open concerning the truth he interviewed for different jobs while nonetheless in cost at New Central Park, with Kilmarnock being certainly one of them.
He is since left Kelty to attempt to increase his possibilities of touchdown a gig with a full-time membership, which can be seen as a bet by others.
He'd little doubt again himself to make the bounce to Premiership and European soccer, and would have a legitimate argument had been he to level to his and Courts' respective CVs and argue that he is extra certified than the previous United boss was when he took the reins.
Shaun Maloney
After a disastrous 4 months at Hibs, Maloney might already discover himself at a managerial crossroads.
He was within the working for the Dundee job alongside Ross, and appeared to be the favorite after his Hibs predecessor pulled out.
Talks broke down although, and Bowyer was given the job.
If United deal with his time at Easter Highway as one thing of an audition, then it is arduous to see Maloney getting the nod.
Nonetheless, Vincent Kompany's appointment as Burnley boss might imply a sexy alternative comes Maloney's means.
The pair know one another properly, having labored collectively underneath Roberto Martinez with the Belgian nationwide workforce.
And an opportunity to hyperlink up with Kompany at Turf Moore earlier than giving administration one other shot could possibly be a clever transfer of Maloney's half.
Mark Fotheringham
The 38-year-old is at the moment working within the Bundesliga as Felix Magath's quantity two at Hertha Berlin.
A Dundee native, Fotheringham had two spells with United's metropolis rivals as a participant.
Extremely considered coach in Germany, the prospect to chop his managerial tooth in his hometown could possibly be a welcome one.
Asghar proved final season that he is not averse to giving unproven bosses their probability, and like Thomson, Fotheringham can legitimately declare extra expertise than Courts had in an analogous place.
David Healy
The Northern Eire legend has a legacy of success at Linfield, successful NIFL Premiership 5 instances within the final six years, in addition to two Irish Cups and a League Cup.
Some may say he is onto a superb factor, so why depart? However the probability to maneuver up a degree, with all due respect to Northern Irish soccer, could possibly be a tough one to show down.
Common forays into the Champions League qualifiers with the Blues imply doing so with United subsequent season will not daunt Healy within the slightest, and his background as a participant would command respect throughout the dressing room.
A data of the switch market throughout the water might additionally show useful with regards to choosing up lesser-known bargains with a purpose to put his personal stamp on the squad Courts leaves behind.
Plus – an outdoor probability...
Duncan Ferguson
The previous Tannadice striker is extremely considered at Everton, the place he even took the caretaker reins when Carlo Ancelotti was sacked. He's stated to be a wonderful coach and chief motivator. If not in Dundee, count on Large Dunc to someday quickly rock up as a boss in his personal proper.