Scotland may wait a year to appoint new manager

Scotland could be without a fulltime manager until next summer, if the preferred candidate is not available until then, according to Stewart Regan, the Scottish Football Association chief executive.

Regan revealed the possibility of an extended timescale for the appointment of a successor to Gordon Strachan, while announcing that the association’s performance director, Malky Mackay, would act as interim manager for the Scots’ next game, a friendly against the Netherlands in Aberdeen on Nov 9.

“We will take our time as a board to plan the next phase of recruitment and get somebody in before we start thinking about the com- petitive matches which don’t happen until September 2018, starting with the new Nations League,” Regan said.

Although the recruitment process will begin next week, Regan’s admission would seem to be discouraging news for the likes of David Moyes, Alex Mcleish, Paul Lambert and former England manager, Sam Allardyce, all of whom are currently out of work.

But a willingness to wait will focus attention on Michael O’neill, whose home is in Edinburgh. He steered Northern Ireland to the last 16 of Euro 2016 and the team have reached the World Cup play-offs.

Moyes declared his interest last night. “I don’t think anyone ever turns down their national team,” he said. “They know where I am.”