Roy Keane is set to miss out on becoming the new manager of Hibernian FC, with Lee Johnson expected to be appointed in the next 24 hours.
The Daily Record reports that The 40-year-old is scheduled to arrive in Edinburgh to finalise and sign his contract that will see him succeed Shaun Maloney.
Roy Keane had been heavily linked with the job in the past number of weeks. Bookmakers Paddy Power had made the former Manchester United captain hot favourite for the job, while Keane's deletion of his Instagram account was taken by some as a sign that a return to management was imminent.
The Daily Record reported last month that the 50-year-old had discussed the Easter Road job with his inner circle as he mulled over potentially succeeding former Celtic team-mate Shaun Maloney.
But a report in the Irish Independent stated that Keane was sceptical about joining Hibs, and his reservations stem from the dismissals of both Maloney and predecessor Jack Ross this season.
After Keane had ruled himself out of the running, Johnson and Jon Dahl Tomasson were the final two on the managerial shortlist and after a thorough selection process the board decided that the Englishman was the preferred candidate.
Johnson has also taken a significant cut in what he was earning in previous jobs to take up the top job in Leith.
Hibs also held talks with Tomasson.
The former Malmo boss was a favourite with a lot of the fans but his financial demands “were excessive”.
The talks also left question marks as to whether or not the Dane really wanted the job and to make Hibs successful.
There were also concerns that Dahl Tomasson wasn’t fully aware of the British and Scottish players pools, where the club would primarily have to shop.
Johnson has worked in the lower leagues in England, brought players from north of the border and also had two playing spells here.
Johnson, who had a spell at Hearts and Kilmarnock as a player, will want to bring in his long-term No. 2 Jamie McAllister while there will also be place for current first-team coach David Gray, who was caretaker boss until the end of the season, in the new set-up.
Johnson has been out of football since he left Sunderland at the end of January, despite delivering the Papa John’s trophy last year.
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
