Former Huddersfield Town boss Steve Bruce is “expecting a phone call” from Aston Villa this morning as he is primed to take the managerial hotseat at Villa Park.

Town’s Championship rivals Villa have been seeking a replacement for Roberto Di Matteo , who was sacked last week following a poor start to the season which has left them 19th in the Sky Bet Championship.

Speculation of interest in Town chief David Wagner has firmly been put to bed and now it seems 55-year-old Bruce – four times a promotion winner from the Championship – is ready to be unveiled at Villa Park.

Former Birmingham and Hull boss Bruce told ITV Sport while acting as a pundit on Tuesday night: “All I can say is I think I am in the frame. I’m expecting a phone call tomorrow and we’ll see how it goes. It is not agreed as such.”

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Villa owner Tony Xia also revealed on Tuesday night that Di Matteo’s replacement should be unveiled ‘in the next 24 hours’, although he did not name any names.

Xia wrote on his official Twitter account: “Scheduled to announce the new manager tomorrow! Time for all to stand together and back the team! Believe we’ve made the best try!”

Villa, relegated from the Premier League last season, host Wolves on Saturday and face the Birmingham City derby at the end of this month.

Bruce – boss at Town from May 1999 to October 2000 – has been out of work since leaving Hull in July, though was interviewed for the England job when Sam Allardyce was appointed.

Prior to his four-year spell in charge of the Tigers, the ex-Manchester United defender also managed the likes of Sunderland, Wigan and Crystal Palace.

His longest stint as a manager so far came with Villa’s city rivals Birmingham, who he was with between 2001 and 2007 and twice helped win promotion to the Premier League.

Town, of course, have already drawn 1-1 at Villa Park thanks to Michael Hefele's late leveller. Villa are not due at the John Smith's until March.