Aberdeen captain Scott Brown is reportedly considering his future at the club.
The former Celtic captain, who joined the Dons last summer to join Stephen Glass as a player-coach, has found his coaching role has been reduced following the arrival of Jim Goodwin.
The Daily Mail has reported Brown remains keen on pursuing a coaching position and both the player and it is understood the Dons would consider letting him move on if a move which suits both parties comes Brown’s way.
The midfielder was in the frame to replace Goodwin at St Mirren following the new manager’s appointment at Pittodrie, but lost out to former Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson for the role.
Brown remains a Dons coach but Goodwin will lead training
Despite missing out on the Saints job, Brown has retained his role of coach at Pittodrie, but Goodwin has made it clear he is leading training.
He said: “Scott has kept his title, so there’s no big drama. I’ve had that done to me in the past where I was player-assistant at St Mirren.
“They made a big song and dance about taking the title off me and I didn’t understand why that happened at the time.
“So there’s no chance of stripping Scott of his title, but I have said to him that I’m very hands-on as a manager.
“That means he might get a bit frustrated with a lack of opportunity on the training pitch as this is a key moment for me and the rest of the squad.
“I have to get my ideas over to the players and make them understand what I’m asking them to do.”
Brown returned from injury to play for 75 minutes in the 2-0 loss at Hearts last midweek, but was not involved in the matchday squad for Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Rangers at Ibrox.
Dons boss Goodwin addressed his team captain’s absence after the game.
He said: “There was no issue at all.
“Scott played on Wednesday, his first game for a wee while after being out with a hamstring problem, and just had a wee bit of fatigue in his legs.
“We didn’t want to risk him with the chance of possibly breaking down and finding himself out injured again.
“It was a sensible decision, I think, from the medical team, from Scott himself and from me.”