Inverness Caledonian Thistle have pinpointed Celtic coach Darren O'Dea as their No.1 target to replace Billy Dodds as manager.
The current Parkhead B team coach is set to travel to the Highlands for talks with Caley chiefs over the vacant position, but it is understood Celtic will do all they can to keep him.
Former Ireland international O'Dea began coaching at Motherwell under-18s after ending his playing career.
Months later he would head to Celtic to take up the position of under-18 manager before being promoted to B team boss in October 2021.
Caley Thistle are bottom of the Championship after taking one point from their first five matches, the latest of which was a 1-0 defeat by Raith Rovers on Saturday. The club have lost eight of their 10 matches in all competitions this season.
As a result Dodds and his assistant Barry Wilson, who played more than 350 times for the club, had their contracts terminated.
Dodds was appointed in July 2021 and led Caley Thistle to the Premiership play-off final in his first season in charge before falling to St Johnstone.
The former Rangers and Scotland striker took the Highlanders into the Scottish Cup final last season with the help of victories against Livingston and Kilmarnock before they lost 3-1 to Celtic at Hampden.
Inverness praised Dodds for his “professionalism, attention to detail and positive attitude” during his reign.
A club statement added: “The run to the Premiership play-off final in his first season was an epic effort which saw us only fall short in the final 45 mins of the final and it goes without saying that reaching the Scottish Cup final for the second time in our 29-year history was a fantastic achievement, as was the performance of the team that day against the Scottish champions.
“It is important to note that this is not a decision which has been taken lightly and as our history shows, it is rarely the way managerial changes happen at Caledonian Stadium.
“We do not have a revolving door, nor a hire and fire at the drop of the hat attitude and we do not expect that to change going forward.
“That said, the CEO and full board of directors had been meeting regularly with Billy regarding performances, results, and our expectations and ambitions for this season.
“We were all determined to give ourselves the best possible chance to succeed.
“Our intention is always to be competing for promotion but as is repeated regularly in such circumstances we are in a results driven business and sadly, this seasons results have not reflected the quality we believe we have in the building.”
Sporting director John Robertson and academy director Charlie Christie are currently in interim charge.
