Did SFA take ‘lazy option’ over McLeish appointment? Read Rab Douglas

As the dust settles on Alex McLeish’s appointment as Scotland manager, I still can’t avoid thinking that the SFA took the lazy, easy option.

As someone who was always so proud to play for my country and now considers myself to be an avid supporter, I hope it all works out for Alex and the team.

I would love to see him prove everyone wrong by leading the players into a major finals after all those years of missing out.

I will be backing him and hoping it works out, as I’m sure the vast majority of the Tartan Army will be.

Of course, he had a great record in his first period in charge of Scotland and will still have all the managerial skills, experience and attributes he possessed back then.

However, I still can’t see it as anything other than the SFA choosing to play safe rather than broaden their horizons.

This just looks as if they have not looked at other options, such as foreign coaches with great pedigrees who have been successful elsewhere.

There could have been a freshening-up of the whole set-up at national level instead of the same old, same old.

I have said that the fans will get behind McLeish – at least initially – and I do feel there will be goodwill towards him from the stands.

My big concern is, though, that this could also finally be the time when the supporters turn against the SFA – not the manager or players – if things don’t go well on the pitch.

So, for me as a Scotland fan, it is a mixed feeling of disappointment at the lack of imagination shown by the SFA but also a willingness to give Alex the chance to do well. Season-changing goals? Simon Murray’s two late goals at Firhill on Saturday could turn out to be the most important of the season for Dundee.

The striker has, a bit like myself, come through from the lower leagues and it is nice to see him do well, especially for the club he grew up supporting.

What we should all like about Murray is that his head never goes down. He keeps trying, even when chances are missed.

There was serious pressure on the side going into that Partick Thistle match.

I thought that had Dundee taken anything from their match against Ross County at Dens earlier this month (they were beaten 4-1) then they would have been safe from automatic relegation.

As it turned out, they are still battling but that victory over the Jags was absolutely massive.

It will have given the players a huge psychological boost, bouncing back like that after throwing away victory at Kilmarnock just a few days earlier.

The fixture schedule looks tough going up to the split but hopefully Dundee have momentum now.

I would love to see Alex prove everyone wrong

SNS. Alex McLeish was unveiled as the new Scotland manager at Hampden last week after agreeing a two-year contract.