St Mirren have made their move to appoint Jim Goodwin as Oran Kearney 's replacement after Alloa granted permission for the Buddies to speak to their boss.
The Paisley side will attempt to sell the club to the Irishman in the next 48 hours and secure a return for the 37-year-old to the club where he served five years as a player.
Kearney left the Saints after 10 months in charge and former club captain Goodwin is now the No.1 candidate on Gordon Scott list to lead the side in the Scottish Premiership next season.
Goodwin had talks this summer with the vacancy at Dundee this summer and has been keen to return to full-time football having kept part-time Alloa in the Scottish Championship last season – and won promotion the year before.
Kearney’s departure was confirmed earlier on Wednesday when St Mirren released a 33-word statement.
The Northern Irishman later released a statement of his own in which he expressed his disappointment.
In a heartfelt Twitter post, he wrote: "I am gutted. But my time was up, that was crystal clear.
"I gave 100 per cent commitment to the cause as I’ve done at any club I’ve been at as a player or manager.
"I am very proud of the job I did and the turnaround I made, just sad not to be seeing it through.
"Thanks to the staff at the training ground and Jimbo (Jimmy Nicholl) for your help and assistance.
"Tony (Fitzpatrick), you were a tower of support and I’ll always be indebted to you.
"To the players for the journey we went on last season, you guys more than anyone deserve some stability.
