NICOLA Sturgeon will launch here bid for the leadership of the SNP today in Glasgow.

The Deputy First Minister, who is hot favourite to take over from Alex Salmond, will reveal her plans for the party to MSPs and supporters at the Royal Concert Hall in the city this morning.

Nominations for the post open today and with other senior party figures already ruling themselves out, and many backing Ms Strugeon for the job, it looks likely she will be appointed in November at the party conference.

She will then become Scotland's first woman First Minister, and the fifth person to hold the post, following Donald Dewar, Henry McLeish, Jack McConnell and Alex Salmond.

Ms Sturgeon was staying silent on her bid until she speaks at the event but is expected to outline the direction she wishes to take the party following the No vote in the referendum.

She will also take time to praise outgoing leader Alex Salmond.

She faces the challenge of following in the footsteps of Scotland's longest serving First Minister and the leader of the SNP who took the party closer to independence than anyone else in its 80-year history.

Ms Sturgeon has made no secret of her desire to lead the party and become First Minister once Mr Salmond decided his time was up.

She told the Evening Times earlier this year she had ambitions to one day be First minister.

She said she would be lying if she hadn't thought about it and being in politics she would want the "top job".

However, she said: "I don't spend much time thinking about it."

Other Cabinet secretaries John Swinney, Alex Neil and Michael Russell have ruled themselves out of running for the job making any leadership contest unlikely.

However, there could be a contest for the post of Deputy Leader.

Names mentioned are Transport Minister Keith Brown, Local Government Minister Derek Mackay, both of whom have been council leaders previously and are considered to have performed well in their current roles.

Glasgow MSP and External Relations Minister Humza Yousaf and Commonwealth Games Minister and former health deputy to Ms Sturgeon, Shona Robison, have also been mooted.

One of the other senior Cabinet ministers could be considered a safer bet for the Deputy First Minister post.

If Ms Sturgeon takes over she will inherit a party that has attracted thousands of new members.

More than 26,000 people have joined the party since the No vote, meaning SNP is now bigger in Scotland than the Liberal Democrats are UK wide.

stewart.paterson@ eveningtimes.co.uk