The Scotsman

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Walter Smith has held preliminar­y talks with the Scottish Football Associatio­n about the possibilit­y of returning as national manager.

He is odds-on favourite to succeed Gordon Strachan but it is understood the governing body is also considerin­g other candidates, including performanc­e director Malky Mackay.

Smith, 69, who previously managed Scotland between 2004 and 2007, appeared to have called time on his dugout career when he stepped down as Rangers manager in 2011 after winning his 21st trophy as Ibrox boss.

Despite spending the last spent seven years in retirement – barring a short spell as Rangers chairman – Smith has emerged as the leading candidate to take over from Strachan after the SFA’S failure to land its No 1 target, Michael O’neill.

That news, though, has split opinion amongst the Tartan Army, with some supporters calling for a younger manager with a fresh approach. But former Scotland midfielder Colin Cameron reckons the time is ripe for Smith to return to the national team.

The former Hearts and Wolves midfielder, who now works as Lowland League outfitedus­portacadem­y’sunder20s coach, said: “Walter has the right credential­s to come in and do the job required. He’d be a great appointmen­t.

“He’s been out of the game for a few years but that doesn’t concern me at all. He may not have been involved in the nitty gritty but he’ll still have been paying attention to what’s going on in the Scottish game and will know the players

“If you’ve got a manager from Scotland you get more from the fans and more from the players too”

COLIN CAMERON around. He certainly hasn’t lost any of his years of experience. So the fact he hasn’t been in the dugout for a while wouldn’t bother me, especially

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