McLEISH PAYS PRICE FOR EURO DISPLAYS
THE SFA will take time to plot their next move after sacking Alex McLeish as Scotland boss.
Sportsmail understands the 60-year-old was informed of his fate on Tuesday and the seven members of the SFA board rubber-stamped his exit yesterday. Despite securing a Nations League play-off spot, McLeish paid a heavy price for the humiliating 3-0 defeat to Kazakhstan in the opening Euro 2020 qualifier last month. An uninspired 2-0 win over San Marino brought chants of ‘f*** the SFA’ from the Tartan Army. And powerbrokers responded by bringing McLeish’s 14-month tenure to an end. Chief executive Ian Maxwell cited the manner of the defeat in the Astana Arena for the decision. He will now take the Easter weekend to decide whether to pursue a permanent replacement imminently, or ask Under-21s coach Scot Gemmill and performance director Malky Mackay to take the team for the June qualifiers against Cyprus and Belgium. Kilmarnock’s Steve Clarke and David Moyes are thought to be in the frame to land the job. Already faced with a £300,000 pay-off for McLeish, an SFA move for either Derek McInnes or Jack Ross could be viewed as unrealistic because of the compensation that would have to be paid to Aberdeen or Sunderland respectively. ‘The decision to part company was not an easy one,’ said Maxwell. ‘It was only taken after an honest conversation between myself and Alex. ‘Ultimately, the performances and results as a whole in the past year — and, in particular, the manner of the defeat in Kazakhstan — did not indicate the progress expected with a squad we believe to be capable of achieving more.’