Jack Ross to Dundee United: Imminent appointment expected as backroom team firmed up

Dundee United are expected to confirm the appointment of Jack Ross as their new manager within the next 24 hours.

Jack Ross has been out of football management since leaving Hibs.

The former Alloa Athletic, St Mirren, Sunderland and Hibs boss is understood to have finalised negotiations with the Tannadice outfit and an announcement is anticipated imminently.

The 46-year-old will take over from Tam Courts, who left Dundee United by mutual consent on Wednesday just one year into his tenure. Courts has since joined Honved in the Hungarian top flight, with Ross immediately identified as the right man to come in for the team that finished fourth in the cinch Premiership last term.

Dundee United chairman Mark Ogren and sporting director Tony Ashgar have been working on a deal for Ross ever since Courts’ departure was made official. It has been reported that Ross will sign a two-year deal with the Tayside outfit.

Ross has been out of football management since he was sacked by Hibs in December last year due to a poor run of league form. He was replaced by Shaun Maloney, who only lasted 120 days at Easter Road, with the Edinburgh club’s owner since Ron Gordon admitting that he may have been too hasty in axing his predecessor.

Ross guided Hibs to third in the Premiership and the Scottish Cup final in 2020-21 campaign. He has experience of European football from last season, where he lost out to Rijeka of Croatia, and will get the opportunity to take Dundee United into the Europa Conference League at the third qualifying round stage in this campaign.

Wanted by Dundee, St Mirren and Kilmarnock and linked with Aberdeen since his exit from Hibs, Ross has waited patiently for the right opportunity to arise and sees Dundee United as the right environment to resume his management career.

Ross is likely to appoint current Tannadice coach Liam Fox as one of his assistants, with already in-situ Craig Hinchliffe set to be involved in the first-team backroom set-up as well. Ross’ No 2 at Hibs, John Potter, is now the manager of Kelty Hearts, while his other coaches, Craig Samson and David Gray, are settled at Aberdeen and Hibs respectively.