Town’s search for a new manager took a dramatic twist today with news that Sunderland have agreed terms with Jack Ross, a long-term Blues target.

The St Mirren boss is moving south of the border to take charge of the newly-relegated Black Cats and spearhead their quest to win promotion back to the Championship at the first time of asking, in a move that will reportedly see his wages rocket by 500 per cent.

But where does this leave Town, who were thought to be closing in on Mick McCarthy’s successor and had 41-year-old Ross, crowned Scotland’s Manager of the Year, firmly in their thoughts after he was twice interviewed for the post?

The bookies have installed Shrewsbury boss Paul Hurst, 43, as firm favourite to take charge at Portman Road — but he is currently attending to business with the Shrews ahead of Sunday’s League One play-off final against Rotherham at Wembley.

Hurst’s credentials are impressive — he has won promotion at previous clubs Ilkeston, Boston and Grimsby — but the situation is anything but clear-cut with Derby County also looking for a new manager following Gary Rowett’s move to Stoke yesterday.

Having lost out on Ross, however, Town owner Marcus Evans will be determined not to see Hurst also lured elsewhere and talks between the two are likely to follow Sunday’s game, regardless of the outcome.

News of Ross’ appointment at Sunderland will disappoint a large number of Town fans, who saw him as the best option to succeed McCarthy but feared the amount of time that elapsed following initial contact with the young Scot might prove costly.

Photo: Allan Picken

tractorollson added 14:03 - May 23 Hurst wont leave there for us if they get promoted. I go back to ME's statement calculated risk which is why i dont think Lampard is out of the running
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Lightningboy added 14:05 - May 23 Oh what a surprise. Give me strength. 🙄 x 1000
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casanovacrow added 14:05 - May 23 Not fussed. If someone were to choose elsewhere then they weren't right for the job in the first place IMHO.
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H1960 added 14:07 - May 23 Just as I predicted in my post last week
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arc added 14:08 - May 23 Given I hadn't even heard of the bloke two weeks ago, I am not going to weep too many tears over this news.
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SuperBlue67 added 14:08 - May 23 Statement from ST Mirren chairman "So unless there is some major skulduggery going on then it's nonsense. To hold talks with Jack, there we would have to grant permission, as has been the case with Ipswich and Barnsley recently. But we've had no contact from Sunderland at all." So either its rubbish or he is a very dodgy dealer and we do not want him at Portman Road

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luckydiddy added 14:11 - May 23 ME is a successful businessman .... in his interview he said end of may/early june ... have faith .. . what can possibly go wrong .... i mean just look at his previous ITFC appointments .... Clegg Keane Jewell Milne McCarthy missing out on Ross losing the totally inexperienced Lampard over wages (but more likely to have been transfer budget) And don't forget the 5 point plan from just over a year ago!!! Oh dear!

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Palestine added 14:11 - May 23 To be fair, I think most on here would agree that Ross and Hurst are the 2 stand-out options, with Hurst being the favourite option. Given Hurst is the play off final we were always going to be in a situation where we were risking waiting, and everyone here knew that. Should it have been 'one in the hand is worth two in the bush', or holding out for the best option but risk getting neither? Ultimately, if we get Hurst ME will have pulled off a master stroke, if we don't get it him, all will be slagging him off on here. I must admit it would be totally gutting to miss out on both, because the 3rd choices are not as good, but I have some sympathy with ME here, and think we should all keep our fingers crossed and get praying..!

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midastouch added 14:13 - May 23 Time to interview Gary White.
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BrettenhamBlue added 14:13 - May 23 Martin O'Neill or Frank Lampard seem Derby bound so I doubt we will be in competition with them for Hurst. However, will Hurst really leave Shrewsbury if they get promoted?
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Karlosfandangal added 14:18 - May 23 Thought Ross was on Holiday....... and Sunderland would need permission to talk to Ross so it may not be so clear cut as we think.
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alfromcol added 14:21 - May 23 Glad some of you lot are not running ITFC, you would be in a state of continuous panic.
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bluearmy78 added 14:23 - May 23 Yes I think Hurst will leave Shrewsbury if they get promoted. He's Done wonders there but he hasn't come out & comitted himself to the club which tells me I think he would be up for a fresh challenge at another's club
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robmonkey007 added 14:23 - May 23 Can we all calm down!!? ME will make the correct decision. No need to be rash and jump the gun by appointing the next available. And why are we so keen on Hurst? I cant see him having done much so far in management and he may be out of his depth joining Ipswich. People just seem to get their knickers in a twist and jump on the band wagon. Its the off season....let the owner make a full and informed decision about the future of this club without numpties running him down constantly.

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itfcitk added 14:25 - May 23 Ross turned Ipswich down on Monday, Hurst has only been spoken to on the phone, Lampard turned down Ipswich because of salary. The new manager was at the club yesterday and has been agreed verbally. Expect an announcement shortly. My source has told me not to say who it is just yet.
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wychyblue added 14:26 - May 23 will be at wenbley on Sunday to watch my godson play for shrewsbury ( and of course Josh Emmanuel). I don't know who i want to win tbf now . Reading between the lines though ,Paul hurst must be ME favourite as he is hanging on until sunday night . I respect ME for that as he could have disrespeced Shrewsbury and 'tapped' him up . Also PH will know how keen M really would like him as he has been prepared to wait . With respect to the Shrews, who has the better chance of premier league promotion . PH will be made to feel very wanted

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DJ27 added 14:30 - May 23 It was announced that MM was leaving on the 29th March. ME would have known about this for at least a few days before hand. It appears that the man Evans wanted to take over, was or could be involved in the Playoffs with his timescale set at end of May / beginning June. You could argue that Hurst has always been the No.1 priority. Ross was allegedly never offered the Job. I could be wrong but i think that Evans spoke to Shrewsbury and Hurst back in April and had an agreement to take over after the playoffs. This would allow Hurst to continue his job without distraction and Shrewsbury to have him focussed on getting promotion, without their fans knowing he was leaving and disrupting their preperations. I was warming to Ross, so would be disappointed if he went to Sunderland. It would be a huge risk from Evans, if he hasnt had any contact with Hurst, which all lead me to think a deal with Shrewsbury and Hurst has already been done.

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baxter7 added 14:30 - May 23 Give white a interview
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davetheblue added 14:30 - May 23 why would sunderland not approach st mirren about ross. it's not like they havn't let him speak to any clubs before. seems very odd to me
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baxter7 added 14:32 - May 23 Give white a interview Evans if we lose out on both Ross and Hurst which looking like we will
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Lightningboy added 14:33 - May 23 I think we have a right to be slightly “panic-y”...our owner's track record is not great when it comes to managerial decisions..no point in everyone now saying that they didn't want Ross anyway like they were doing yesterday with Lampard (that is childish). Most are reacting to a news story that's been reported on here,not on tw@tter or some other unreliable source...add to the mix that our owner seems to be dragging this out way beyond longer than was really needed - just to even interview the Shrewsbury boss is pushing it,meanwhile targets are dropping like flies,well not great is it?

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portman_blue added 14:35 - May 23 If it is to be Hurst, I think he'll have to move to Ipswich. As a Telford resident who travels to Ipswich to see my mum & sisters, he wouldn't want to do that sh1tty 4-hour journey on the M54, M6 & A14 too often. He has a wife & young family and presumably will want them close.
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timspencero added 14:39 - May 23 alfromcol - so true mate. lots of armchair football club owners here aren't there. Relax guys, you're acting like you've missed out on something on eBay If Ross has gone to Sunderland it says plenty about him too. In the meantime, try and keep your marbles ITFC fans. Most fans hadn't even heard of Ross or Hurst before this process started, it's embarrassing
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toxtethblue added 14:48 - May 23 I don't know why Tisdale (Exeter) and Jones (Luton) weren't seriously in the running either?
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dugoutdave added 14:49 - May 23 I don't know what people actually want here other than possibly a scapegoat. a: no one actually knows if Ross has taken the job at Sunderland b: no one actually knows who has been interviewed or is on the list c: no one actually knows if Ross was offered the job let alone turned it down. d: very few people actually know anything about Ross other than what they have read AFTER his name came up, yet suddenly; he's the man for us e: no-one know if ME has actually spoken to Hurst or if he is really on the list. f: none actually knows what ME is offering in monetary terms so rather pointless saying whatever it is its not enough. Honestly people, we don't know anything really, so slagging ME off esp when he always said end of May beginning of June is when he would appoint is somewhat pathetic. We simply have to wait and see. Certainly the way to get slagged off is to appoint the wrong man due to pressure from fans. IF we did get Ross and he failed in his job, then i wonder how many would have a go at Evans then. I'm not ME's greatest supporter but I do know about interviewing. Sometimes the one you want walks away for some reason and you have to accept it. However in this case we don't even know if he was the one he wanted. Nothing we, as fans, can do but wait and see.

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