David Taylor last night admitted that the Scottish Football Association would be powerless to prevent Alex McLeish repeating the actions of Walter Smith and accepting a return to club management in the future.
David Taylor last night admitted that the Scottish Football Association would be powerless to prevent Alex McLeish repeating the actions of Walter Smith and accepting a return to club management in the future.
The SFA chief executive insisted, though, that he fully expects McLeish to see out his three-year contract as national coach following his official presentation at Hampden yesterday.
Taylor is not fearful that McLeish's relative youth, at 48 years old, could make him an even more attractive proposition to leading clubs should he attain success with Scotland in the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. Rather, he would view such interest as a vindication of the appointment.
Smith's resignation and subsequent return to Rangers earned the SFA around £400,000 from the Ibrox club, but Taylor said there were legal complexities that prohibited the insertion of a precise "trigger figure" for compensation within McLeish's contract.
"Obviously we put in contractual provisions we feel are appropriate but we are also realistic," said Taylor. "If someone is offered a huge amount of money and decides to leave then that will happen. But we don't expect it to, because we have someone in Alex who is committed to the cause.
"If we qualify for Euro 2008 then that would be terrific. If Alex does really well in the job then others would be interested in him. In a sense, we want our coaches to be coveted because we want to be successful. I have talked with Alex about this in some detail but you can never say never in football. I think, though, that we have just come through a very unusual set of circumstances and I can't see that happening again."
Taylor confirmed that Gary McAllister was the only other candidate interviewed for the job but that McLeish, who won 77 caps for Scotland as a centre-back, always held the edge through his coaching pedigree.
"Alex's experience was the key factor," said Taylor. "His cv speaks for itself. He has had a long coaching career and a good understanding of the international scene from his time as a player.
"People can mention his last few months at Rangers, but that is set against seven trophies in four and a half years. When you weigh up everything then it's clear the balance is very positive."
Taylor also insisted he harboured no regrets over the controversial circumstances in which Tommy Burns severed his ties with the national side. Burns was not approached by the SFA in the aftermath of Smith's resignation.
"It was Tommy's decision," said Taylor. "He is an employee of Celtic and, after what we went through with Rangers, the last thing we were going to do was speak to someone without speaking to the club first. I made that clear to Celtic.
"That was the position right up until Tommy took himself out of the Scotland setup. But Alex was our main choice.
"I think it would be very difficult to handle things differently in the circumstances. I have since spoken to Tommy and there are no lingering bad feelings. Tommy decided that if he wasn't going to be a No.1 then he didn't want to be a No.2. That's a human feeling and very understandable. He gave great service for five years and we acknowledged that.
"There is also no issue with Rangers. The SFA simply had to get a fair deal and the matter is closed."
