Ron Gordon will arrive in Scotland on Saturday to escalate the hunt for Hibs next manager as Tony Mowbray and Michael Appleton joined the bookies’ frontrunners to succeed Shaun Maloney.
Appleton left his position at Lincoln City after almost three years in charge at the weekend while Mowbray will bring a five-year spell as boss of Blackburn to an end next week.
Appleton, 46, was the preferred candidate to replace Neil Lennon in February 2019 but talks fell apart at the final stage - reportedly over personal terms - and Paul Heckingbottom was instead appointed.
Gordon’s takeover of the club came five months later and he is now hunting for his fourth boss in three years.
The American businessman is scheduled to arrive in the UK on Saturday and plans to stay for up to 10 days during which time he intends to hold talks with shortlisted contenders.
Others linked with the job include Roy Keane, Malky Mackay, Kevin Thomson, Phillip Cocu and Paul Clement.
The final list is still being drawn up by chief executive Ben Kensell and Gordon’s son Ian who have been holding preliminary talks with interested parties south of the border.
Once that process has been completed, the Hibs’ board will sit down for interviews as they look to finalise a thorough search after the owner admitted the hiring of Maloney in December was “probably rushed”.
Meanwhile Jon Busch has left Hibs after only three months as the clearout of Maloney’s management team continued on Monday.
The goalkeeping coach had remained in place to help caretaker boss David Gray - who will remain in charge for the final three games of the campaign - following Maloney’s sacking a fortnight ago.
But after Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Livingston the former US international shotstopper joined his ex Chicago Fire team mate and Gary Caldwell, first team coach Valerio Zuddas and head of technical support Brian Doogan in exiting Easter Road.
Third choice goalkeeper David Mitchell, signed last summer from Clyde, will stand in as keeper coach for the remainder of the season before a new management team is put in place.
A Hibs statement said: “We can confirm that Jon Busch has left his role as head of goalkeeping.
“The former US international joined Hibs in February 2022 as part of Shaun Maloney’s coaching staff.
“We thank Jon for all his efforts during his time with us and wish him all the best for the future.”
