The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Proud McLeish back at helm at Hampden
SCOTLAND: Search for national manager ends with unveiling
Alex McLeish has described his appointment as Scotland manager for a second time as a “tremendous honour”.
The 59-year-old, who has agreed a two-year contract, was yesterday confirmed in the role he held for 10 months in 2007, leaving for Birmingham City in the November shortly after a narrow failure to reach Euro 2008.
McLeish, who won seven of his 10 matches in charge first time round, said in a statement: “It is a tremendous honour to be named Scotland national team head coach.
“I am incredibly fortunate to have had the chance to lead my country already and I am immensely proud to be in this position for a second time.”
McLeish replaces his former Aberdeen team-mate Gordon Strachan, who lost his job after the nation’s exile from major tournaments passed the 20-year mark.
The former Rangers boss is expected to hold talks with James McFadden next week over a possible coaching role.
Courier Sport looks back at McLeish’s 10 games in charge first time round.
Scotland 2 Georgia 1 – March 24 2007(Hampden): Scotland seemed set to miss out on victory in McLeish’s first match in charge since succeeding Walter Smith after Shota Arveladze cancelled out Kris Boyd’s 10th-minute opener. But substitute Craig Beattie kept the Scots top of their Euro 2008 qualification table with a last-minute winner.
Italy 2 Scotland 0 – March 28 2007 (Bari): Scotland went to the lair of the world champions with genuine hope but slack marking allowed Luca Toni to head a 12th-minute opener, and the striker added a second 20 minutes from time as Scotland chased an equaliser.
Austria 0 Scotland 1 – May 30 2007 (Vienna): Scotland gained a narrow friendly victory over the Euro 2008 cohosts as Boyd’s knockdown was drilled in by Garry O’Connor.
Faroe Islands 0 Scotland 2 – June 6, 2007 (Toftir): Scotland made a success of a tricky trip to the Faroes thanks to a Shaun Maloney free-kick and a classy finish from O’Connor.
Scotland 1 South Africa 0 – August 22 2007 (Aberdeen): An uninspiring friendly against the 2010 World Cup hosts was settled by a Boyd goal two minutes after he had come on as a substitute.
Scotland 3 Lithuania 1 – September 8 2007 (Hampden): Scotland’s qualification hopes were almost derailed by an outrageous dive from Hearts midfielder Saulius Mikoliunas, who won the penalty that Tomas Danilevicius tucked away to cancel out another Boyd strike. But McLeish’s changes proved inspirational again as Maloney set up Stephen McManus with his first touch in the 76th minute, and James McFadden curled in a glorious third goal.
France 0 Scotland 1 – September 12 2007 (Paris): Scotland proved lightning could strike twice as they stunned the French for the second time in under a year. McFadden cemented his hero status with a sensational 35-yard strike to send more than 15,000 Scots wild at the Parc des Princes.
Scotland 3 Ukraine 1 – October 13 2007 (Hampden): McLeish’s men proved they could live with the pressure as Kenny Miller and Lee McCulloch scored from set-pieces to put Scotland two ahead inside 10 minutes. Ukraine fought back through Andriy Shevchenko but that man McFadden wrapped up the points by firing home in the 67th minute.
Georgia 2 Scotland 0 – October 17 2007 (Tbilisi): A win would have put Scotland within a point of the finals but a young Georgia side proved a handful against McLeish’s injury-depleted squad. Levan Mchedlidze, 17, headed Georgia ahead and David Siradze put the game beyond doubt after McFadden had been denied a stonewall penalty.
Scotland 1 Italy 2 – November 17 2007 (Hampden): Scotland needed victory over the world champions to reach the Euro 2008 finals. Luca Toni scored for Italy in the second minute but Barry Ferguson’s equaliser in the second half gave Scotland fresh hope and they dominated the closing half-hour. Christian Panucci shattered the Scottish dream, however, with a late winner following a controversial free-kick.