Livingston manager David Hopkin ponders future as Shrewsbury admit interest
- Published
David Hopkin has led Livingston to successive promotions
Livingston boss David Hopkin has told the promoted club he is being pursued by potential new employers after being made an offer to extend his stay.
Shrewsbury Town say that the former Scotland midfielder could be of interest if Paul Hurst joins Ipswich.
"David has been open and honest with the board and verified that he has had other interest," Livingston said.
"A budget and offer have been put to him today. We are very hopeful that he will see his future at Livingston FC."
Newspaper stories have also linked Hopkin with St Mirren, Carlisle United and Greenock Morton, with whom he started his playing career and had a spell as caretaker.
Having taken charge of Livington in December 2015, he was unable to prevent relegation to League One.
But he has led the West Lothian side to successive promotions and they return to the top flight after finishing runners-up to St Mirren and winning a play-off against Partick Thistle.
The former Morton, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Bradford City midfielder, who is out of contract, will consider his future while on holiday.
"The club has held talks with David with a view to retaining him as manager and building on the remarkable success we have enjoyed during his time here," Livingston said in a website statement.
Josh Mullin is staying in the Championship with relegated Ross County instead of going up with Livingston
"He heads off on holiday on Wednesday and will use that time to reflect and come to a decision on his future."
Midfielder Josh Mullin, who spent two seasons at Almondvale after joining from Albion Rovers and played 41 times last season, decided this week to switch to Ross County, who have swapped places with Livingston after their relegation.
However, Livingston stressed: "The transfer window is closed until 10 June, so the board is comfortable in giving David this time.
"We are hopeful that the offer will encourage him to remain with the club and take us forward in the Premiership.
"The club will continue to push on with the pre-season schedule and our player recruitment with the help of the coaching staff at the club."
Morton sacked Jim Duffy after their failure to reach the Premiership play-offs and are poised to appoint former Dundee United boss Ray McKinnon on Wednesday.
St Mirren are seeking a replacement for Jack Ross, who has taken charge of Sunderland, and League Two outfit Carlisle are looking for a successor to Keith Curle.
Shrewsbury, who lost in the promotion play-off final to Rotherham United after finishing third in League Two, are starting their hunt for a new manager after giving Hurst permission to speak to Championship outfit Ipswich Town.
Shrewsbury's Paul Hurst is in talks with Championship club Ipswich
Chief executive Brian Caldwell, who is aware of Hopkin's availability, told BBC Shropshire: "Everyone was telling me that Paul was going to Ipswich this week, so his agent called me last week and managed to put it out in the papers that we were interested.
"I'm open to a number of number of options just now. David's done well at Livingston on a very limited budget.
"So, from that point of view, yes, that's of interest to me.
"It's somebody that can punch above his weight in the same way Paul does. David's done an incredible job at Livingston in the last couple of years, taking them into the Scottish Premiership.
"I'm not saying that he's one of the ones who's definitely going to be there. All I'm saying is that I'm open to looking at suggestions and, if and when Paul goes, the chairman and I will sit down and discuss all the attributes of each individual we want."