That he would be getting the nod has not been in doubt since he guided United to SPL safety with victory at Inverness Caley Thistle on Saturday, his fifth win in 10 games as interim boss.

That was more wins than previous boss Ian McCall had managed between the start of the season and his departure in March and, given the improvement in level of performance as well as results, it was impossible to ignore the former No. 2’s claim for the job.

As well as the board, Gordon has had the backing of the players and, at Inverness, fans showed their support for him by chanting his name after the final whistle.

A player with Sunderland, Hibs and Dundee, where he was skipper in the late 80s, he has been a successful coach and assistant manager at a list of Scottish clubs over the past decade.

Since stepping into the managerial hot seat two months ago, he has shown that, having served that lengthy apprenticeship, he is ready to be his own boss and has earned his chance via results.

His main priority this week, though, remains preparing for the final and what looks certain to be O’Neill’s last game.

Gordon will ignore speculation about that as he concentrates on United’s bid to follow up their 1994 success against the other half of the Old Firm.

Minus torn groin muscle victim Paul Ritchie, the players trained on the pitch at Tannadice today. Ritchie is not expected to make it by his manager, but, with the player determined to recover in record time and take his place at Hampden, he will be given another couple of days to prove the medical experts wrong.

“Paul’s such a determined boy and this is such a big occasion that I am not going to rule him out if he says he has a chance,” said the new manager.

“However, the final decision will be mine and, for a game of this importance, he will have to train on Thursday or Friday to show me he can be in the squad.”