FORMER Aldershot Town boss Gary Waddock and ex-Rotherham and Brentford manager Andy Scott are the front runners for the vacant Shots hot seat following the shock sacking of Dean Holdsworth.

Waddock, 40, was the man who led the Shots back into the Football League in 2008 before leaving to join Wycombe Wanderers the following year.

Although his decision to up sticks to the then League One Chairboys proved unpopular with fans at the time, Waddock has always been well respected by the Aldershot faithful and he remains the terrace favourite to come in to replace Holdsworth, who was axed just hours after Tuesday night's 1-0 victory over Torquay United.

Holdsworth paid the price for a poor run of results which has left the club languishing in 20th position in League Two and facing a mammoth battle to cling on to their Football League status.

Sacking 'out of the blue' - Holdsworth

With 13 games of the season remaining, this new appointment is, arguably, the most important in the club's short but proud history and EBB Stadium chiefs said they hoped to fill the role ahead of Saturday's visit of Fleetwood Town.

Waddock is a front runner in a shortlist of four candidates, which is also believed to include former Rotherham and Brentford manager Andy Scott, who formed a close bond with new Shots' chief executive Andrew Mills during their time together at the Bees.

In fact, Scott is now the overwhelming favourite with bookmakers to be given the job, ahead of former Farnborough, Stevenage and Preston manager Graham Westley and ex-Shot Paul Buckle, who left Luton Town earlier this week citing "personal reasons".

A decision on the new appointment was expected to be made by the end of Thursday.

Holdsworth, 42, leaves after two years at the EBB Stadium, in which time he steered the club on a mesmeric Carling Cup run last season, including victory at West Ham United and a fourth round home clash against Manchester United.

He also led the club to the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time this season, eventually going out narrowly to Championship side Middlesbrough.

His exit ends a difficult week for the Holdsworth family after his twin brother David was sacked by Lincoln City on Sunday.

An Aldershot Town FC statement, released on Wednesday night, said: "Following a difficult run of results which has returned just seven points from the last seven games, and despite Tuesday evening's hard fought result against Torquay United, the board of directors have taken the decision to terminate the contract of Dean Holdsworth with immediate effect.

"The board would like to place on record their thanks and appreciation for Dean's efforts during his time at the football club and acknowledge the difficult circumstances under which Dean has managed to steer us out of the relegation places.

"Dean also leaves as a Football League manager with the club remaining in Football League status. However, despite this and taking into account our current league position and games in hand of those teams around us, the board felt the time was right to maximise the positive momentum of Tuesday's result in order to give the best possible chance of retaining our league status.

"With this in mind and just 13 games left of the season, we must now move quickly and make every effort to find a suitable replacement that can help us achieve those immediate ambitions.

"We understand the time-sensitive nature of any discussions and hope to be able to confirm the position prior to Saturday’s home fixture against Fleetwood Town at the EBB Stadium.

"We will update supporters as soon as we are in a position to do so regarding the managerial position at the club."

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