O’Neill decision still set to rumble on

THE appointment of the next Scotland manager is unlikely to be made before next week’s UEFA Nations League draw, despite the Scottish Football Association holding talks with Michael O’Neill this week.

Hampden bosses were given the green light on Friday by the Irish Football Association to speak to the Northern Ireland manager about becoming Gordon Strachan’s successor.

The 48-year-old reportedly wanted his future to be resolved before Wednesday’s draw at UEFA headquarters in Switzerland, with a four-year contract extension on offer from the IFA, but a conclusion is not in sight.

SportTimes understands talks could run into next week, and even if a positive outcome is achieved quickly, a final announcement is unlikely to be made until after SFA chief executive Stewart Regan has travelled to Lausanne next week.

O’Neill is also scheduled to be at the draw representing Northern Ireland, who are still hopeful of hanging on to the man who guided them to their first ever European Championships in 2016.

His current £500,000 a year contract runs until 2020 – rising to £700,000 a year if he accepts his new deal – and plans have already been put in place for him to lead his country on a central American tour in the summer.

But the SFA are confident the lure of working with the level of player in the Scotland squad, allied to the long-term performance strategy they have in place, and the opportunity to lead the nation to their first major tournament in over two decades, will prove difficult for O’Neill to resist.

And the governing body are prepared for talks to take however long is necessary to ensure that both parties are on the same page over the direction of the national side, with the appointment of the right candidate seen as more important than how long the process may take to find him.