7 Dundee United next manager candidates as the hunt begins for Tam Courts’ successor

Dundee United have today confirmed the departure of manager Tam Courts.

The Tannadice boss left his role by mutual consent after expressing his desire to explore other options outside of Scottish football.

Courts has been in talks with Croatian side Rijeka over the past week.

The 40-year-old gaffer led United to their best placed Scottish Premiership finish in nine years last season, securing a return to Europe in the process.

Dundee United sporting director Tony Asghar insists the Tayside outfit are moving quickly to appoint a successor, with the appointment already in the advanced stages and likely to come in the next few days.

But who is likely to fill the vacancy?

Record Sport have taken a look at some possible candidates...

The ex-Hibs and St Mirren boss has been linked with a number of vacancies since leaving Easter Road.

The 46-year-old was heavily connected to United's Tayside rivals Dundee following the departure of Mark McGhee but the boyhood Dundee fan withdrew from the process before Gary Bowyer was appointed.

Ross was sacked by Hibs in December 2021, after a run of seven defeats in nine league games.

Now that the Tannadice role has opened up, Ross is believed to see it as the perfect opportunity to get back into management.

Court has built solid foundations for any new man to build on, and a return to Europa Conference League action for Ross will likely appeal. He took Hibs to the Continent last season, beating FC Santa Coloma before, ironically, going out to Courts' prospective new employers, Rijeka.

United's ambition will be to compete for third, fourth and the European places on a regular basis. Ross did that in one full season at Hibs, and the consensus was that he would have again had Ron Gordon