Slovenian boss Luka Elsner has been backed to be the new Hearts manager after he emerged as a shock candidate to take charge at Tynecastle in the betting markets.
And the former Reims and Union Saint-Gilloise boss has insisted he's desperate to take on a new challenge.
Hearts are on the lookout for a new manager after Neil Critchley was axed following their defeat to Dundee last week.
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And Scottish firm McBookie.com have reported a string of bets on 42-year-old Elsner, who was fired by Reims in February of this year and is without a job.
Elsner guided Union Saint-Gilloise to promotion when Tony Bloom - the Brighton owner who is set to invest in Hearts - took charge of the Belgian club in 2018.
And Elsner, who has also been manager of Standard Liege, Amiens and Le Havre, revealed this week in his homeland he would love to return to management as soon as possible.
He said: "The obvious choice for my next step would be either France or Belgium, but I am certainly not closing the door on anything.
"Maybe it's time for me to look elsewhere. Given that I'm good with languages, no football market is closed to me.
"There has been some interest in me, but nothing concrete so far.
"Many clubs are still uncertain about their position in the leagues, but it feels like a lot has started to happen now in terms of club movements.
"I expect things to start happening much more intensively for me in the coming weeks and I'll know more.
"I am realistically open to all possibilities and I am not closing any doors."
Current Killie boss Derek McInnes leads the market at evens with Championship-winning Falkirk boss John McGlynn, St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson and former boss Robbie Neilson also high up on the list. Elsner has been slashed to 10/1.
