Sunderland boss Jack Ross in the running to replace Alex McLeish as Scotland boss

McLeish, 60, left his role as Scottish head coach by mutual consent on Thursday after just 12 matches in charge of the national side.

Scotland appointed McLeish in 2018 when the former Rangers and Aston Villa boss replaced Gordon Strachan, following Scotland's failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

Strachan is now the early favourite to fill the vacancy, with bookmaker BetVictor offering odds of 4/1 for the 62-year-old to be reappointed.

Ex-Sunderland boss David Moyes is the second favourite at 5/1, while Ross is an outside option at 20/1.

In a BBC interview back in September, Ross admitted it was his "ultimate ambition" to become the Scotland manager at some stage in his career.

A former defender, Ross wasn't able to gain an international cap for his country but did make one appearance for Scotland B in 2009.

Yet following reports linking him with the West Brom manager's job, Ross dismissed speculation regarding a possible move away from the Stadium of Light.

“I genuinely haven’t read anything this week – I’m trying to be clear-headed about what we’re trying to do,” said Ross.

“I’ve said time and time again how much I enjoy this job, and also how much I’ve still got to do within it.

“For however long I’m here, that’s what I’ll be focused on, and my commitment to the job I’ve got to do here hasn’t changed. That’s the only thing I’m focused on and there’s still an awful lot of things I want to achieve at Sunderland football club."