Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
McLeish set to be Scots boss
ALEX McLeish will be unveiled as Scotland’s new manager after agreeing to return to the Hampden hotseat.
The former national team boss is understood to have accepted the post after agreeing a two-year deal to replace Gordon Strachan.
Hampden chiefs have spent the best part of four months searching for a new boss but have now returned to the 59-year-old for a second stint in charge after failing to land their first choice Michael O’Neill.
McLeish — who had a successful 10-game stint in charge of the side back in 2007 — travelled to Glasgow on Wednesday to meet the SFA board and impressed them enough to get their unanimous backing.
Final details of his contract — which for now spans only the Scots’ new Nations League campaign and the Euro 2020 qualifiers — were thrashed out yesterday and McLeish will now set about preparing the squad for next month’s friendly clashes with Costa Rica and Hungary.
The appointment of the former Hibs, Rang ers, Birmingham and Aston Villa boss concludes the drawn-out and heavily criticised hunt for Strachan’s successor.
His return to the post is likely t o split opinion among the Tartan Army — not least because of his decision to walk away from the post just as his side looked to be on the verge of something special — but the SFA are now hoping he can rediscover his magic touch.