St Mirren give Barnsley permission to speak to boss Jack Ross about replacing Paul Heckingbottom as manager
SunSport can exclusively reveal the English Championship side identified the Buddies gaffer last week and are confident they will meet him in the next few days
ST MIRREN have reluctantly given Barnsley permission to speak to their manager Jack Ross.
SunSport understands the Tykes quickly identified the Buddies gaffer after Paul Heckingbottom left for Leeds last week.
They are then thought to have contacted the Scottish Championship leaders over the weekend.
Sources at Oakwell claim the club are now confident they will get the chance to meet with highly-regarded Ross later this week.
It’s unlikely the 41-year-old will be the only man interviewed as Barnsley search for someone who can lift them away from the Championship relegation zone.
Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy and West Brom first-team coach Darren Moore — both ex-Barnsley favourites — have been linked with the post.
Losing Ross would be a huge blow to the Buddies after he took them from Championship relegation fodder to table-toppers inside 12 months.
But if he does discuss the job with the Yorkshire outfit, who are third-bottom having won just once in 16 league games, it wouldn’t be a given he would quit Paisley.
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He has already shown loyalty to the club after rejecting the chance to boss Dundee last summer.
Barnsley chief executive Gauthier Ganaye wants a new manager in time for this weekend’s clash with Burton Albion.
He said: “We’ve started the recruitment process to get a replacement.
“We’ve received over 100 applicants and about half are credible. We are building a shortlist.
"We’ll hopefully start interviewing but don’t want to rush our decision."