Peter Houston in line to land Falkirk job

Houston, 56 later this month, had two spells as a player with the club in the 1980s and 1990s and returned again as a coach in 1993, helping to set up their youth academy.

Following spells as a No 2 to Craig Levein at Hearts, Leicester City and United, he became manager at Tannadice in January 2010, when Levein left to take the Scotland job. He led United to victory in the Scottish Cup final against Ross County later that season but Houston – who doubled as Levein’s assistant with the national team – quit in January 2013 after refusing to accept a cut in his wages.

When he returned to the game it was as a senior scout for Celtic midway through last season, but he is believed to have been chosen by the Falkirk board to replace Gary Holt, who left earlier this week to rejoin Norwich City as first-team coach.

• Dundee boss Paul Hartley is believed to be keen on former Celtic colleague Simon Ferry, who played with Portsmouth in England’s League Two last season. The 26-year-old midfielder hails from Tayside but was with Celtic for five years before heading for Swindon Town in 2010.

After three seasons at the County Ground, Ferry moved to Fratton Park last season on a two-year deal. However, Dundee are interested in whether that can be cut short.