Tiernan Lynch 'set' to become St Johnstone next manager with 2 hurdles remaining to secure Larne boss

Tiernan Lynch is leading the race to become the next manager of St Johnstone - according to a report.

The Larne boss was seen as one of two men in the frame to be named as Craig Levein's successor alongside Aberdeen coach Peter Leven after Ayr United gaffer Scott Brown dropped out of the running after holding talks with the Perth club. But according to the Belfast Telegraph, Lynch, 44, is one step closer to making the move to McDiarmid Park, with St Johnstone chairman Adam Webb and Larne now in discussions over a compensation package and then personal terms just need to be thrashed out.

If a deal can be agreed, then Lynch could be in the dugout for next Sunday's trip to face Rangers at Ibrox. Ahead of Saturday's clash with Celtic, the Saints sit 10th in the Premiership with four points from their first six matches. Lynch has completely reversed the Northern Irish club's fortunes since arriving from Glentoran six years ago. Larne were in the second tier when he took up the reins but helped by significant investment from owner Kenny Bruce, led the club to back to back league titles.

Lynch has also made historic inroads with the club on the continent by leading Larne to the revamped group stage of the Conference League this season. The Antrim side kick off their campaign with a trip to Norway to take on Molde next Thursday and also have ties against Shamrock Rovers, Olimpija Ljubljana, St Gallen, Dinamo Minsk and Gent to look forward to.

Follow Record Sport on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond.

You can also follow our dedicated Rangers and Celtic podcast pages and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never