Councillor George Redmond says he has the votes to replace Malcolm Cunning as leader of the Labour group on Glasgow City Council.
The veteran elected representative - who stood down in 2017 but who was re-elected last week in the city's Calton ward - told our sister title The Herald he wouldn't have launched a challenge unless he was confident he could win.
Meanwhile, Labour's deputy leader Eva Murray - seen by some as Councillor Cunning’s anointed successor - faces a challenge from Southside Central councillor Soriya Siddique.
While Frank McAveety could soon replace Bill Butler as the group’s business manager.
Both the challengers are supporters of Mr Redmond.
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It's understood he also has the backing of councillors Elaine McDougall, Cecilia O'Lone, Hanif Raja and a “number” of the new members.
However, Councillor Cunning says he won’t go without a fight, describing Mr Redmond as the "politics of the past".
He said: “Glasgow Labour delivered the best result in the city since before the referendum in 2014. We need to move forward, building on that success. Now is not the time to go backwards to the politics of the past.”
Last week, Labour came within a seat of replacing the SNP as the biggest group in the council. The party say they were within 200 votes of taking back the city.
Councillor Redmond told our sister title The Herald he respected Councillor Cunning but "the challenges in front of us probably needs a change of direction."
"And you need someone with the experience that I have, the skill set that I have and the drive and determination that I have to take Glasgow Labour forward,” he said.
He served as chairman of Glasgow Life and SPT, convener of the property and planning committees and was twice the council spokesman for development and regeneration.
Redmond said the party had been caught between independence and unionism, but that from speaking to thousands of voters in the run-up to last week’s election, the big issues were “getting our bins sorted, clean our streets, fix those potholes, do something with the city centre."
He said he believed the group were looking for a change in leadership.
"I used to play football and I played in a team and that team was successful because we had 15 to 20 people who were all pulling our weight towards our goals.
"That's the same for me in terms of my role in Glasgow Labour, it's going to be 36 people who are working towards the same goals."
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