YOU would do well to find a supporter of the Scotland national team who wants Alex McLeish to stay on as manager.
At the same time, even fewer, if any at all, will have a bad word to say about this great figure of our game. A gentleman who reached the top while never being anything other than a kind and funny Glaswegian who always fitted his boots.
The SFA have a long and inglorious history of stubbornness, bad mistakes and self-interest, but surely even those who were in the McLeish camp have come to realise that it’s not working, and a change must be made.
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McLeish will be relieved of his duties. It would be the right thing to do for all concerned.
Ian Maxwell, the SFA chief executive, will this morning sit down with SFA president Alan McCrae, vice-president Rod Petrie, SPFL chief Neil Doncaster and fellow board members Michael Mulraney, Thomas McKeown and Ana Stewart.
There is only one subject to discuss and that’s whether there should be a change of manager now. It shouldn’t take very long.
Surely, the decision has been made and this is a simply a formality. Although would it surprise anyone if they sat down around a table poured a cup of coffee for themselves and then someone says: “Right, so what do we do?”
All indication are that Maxwell’s mind was made up after the Kazakhstan and San Marino games. He had no choice.
The Scotland fans turned that night. You probably have to go back to the 1978 World Cup to recall so much anger directed at the SFA, manager and players.
McLeish will go. Tributes will be paid to one of the country’s all-time greats which is only right, and a he can get on with his life away from the scrutiny which comes with the job.
Then two things need to happen.
Firstly, Maxwell, and ideally one or two others, must face the press and answer some tough questions. It won’t be comfortable, but it is entirely necessary.
The public deserves to know why an appointment nobody outside a few people at the SFA would even have considered, never mind gone through with, went ahead at all.
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Also, will the process of selecting Scotland managers change? And if not, why not?
Because from the outside looking in, there seems to be different people pulling in different directions, rather than those mentioned above coming together and making the decision for the good of the country.
If Maxwell and Petrie, not a great fan of public speaking, take on any issue raised in a forthright and honest manner – some plain speaking would be great – then we could maybe all move on from what has been a waste of time.
The second thing on the agenda should already be taking place, which is finding the next manager.
Steve Clarke, Scott Gemmill, Neil Lennon have been mentioned and all three candidates have pros and cons. Whoever is the SFA’s man should have been made aware they will be getting a phone call from Hampden over the next few days.
No long searches. No people hearing there might be interest (Walter Smith) and then nothing comes of it.
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A repeat of the Michael O’Neill saga, which should have been a resignation issue for those involved, is unthinkable.
And if there is to be a foreign coach, which does work for many countries the size of ours, then wheels must be already in motion. Time is not a luxury we have.
Oh, and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to ask Andy Robertson, Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney, to pick three names out of the air, whether they had any ideas on the matter. After all, these are the players the new man will rely upon.
Maxwell is a smart man. You have got to hope that he sees that the SFA must change its ways. The national team is an afterthought for most football supporters in this country when not so long ago we were all in this together.
This is a big moment for Maxwell. He can come out of this well by showing strong leadership, treating McLeish with sympathy and the respect he deserves, but at the same time showing the country that at long last the Scottish Football Association is ready to change their ways – because their ways have not worked for some time.
And our Big Eck can get his life back.
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