WHEN Alex McLeish was confirmed as Scotland manager back in 2007 there were, unusually with such a major appointment, few if any complaints from supporters.
McLeish was, having served a lengthy and occasionally successful apprenticeship at Motherwell, Hibernian and Rangers, seen as the obvious choice to replace Walter Smith.
Members of the Tartan Army, those who could remember his heroics in the dark blue of his country as a player alongside his Aberdeen team-mate Willie Miller especially, were almost unanimously behind the decision.
Read more: Steven Thompson: Alex McLeish's success will be down to luck and not good business by the SFA
Fast forward 11 years, though, and the reaction to him being handed the job for a second time is not, after decidedly unimpressive spells in the dugout at Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Genk and Zamalek, nearly so positive.
The fact he left Scotland for a lucrative job at Birmingham City after 10 games in charge and a failed attempt to reach the Euro 2008 finals has not been forgotten by some either.
McLeish, who hasn’t worked in management since his unfortunate 34-day spell in Egypt back in 2016, will have a sceptical support to win over when he walks out of the tunnel at Hampden before the friendly against Costa Rica next month.
The seven-strong SFA board, who met McLeish on Wednesday evening for talks about him replacing his close friend and former Aberdeen and Scotland team-mate Gordon Strachan, were, according to sources, unanimously behind his appointment.
The same, however, is not true of most fans who would have preferred to see one of Steve Clarke, Derek McInnes, David Moyes, Paul Lambert, Neil Lennon or even Jurgen Klinsmann given the chance.
The 58-year-old, who agreed the terms of a two-year contract which will take him up to the end of Scotland’s forthcoming Euro 2020 campaign after further meetings yesterday, is not a hugely popular choice.
The country was in desperate need of a lift after the bitter disappointment of a failed bid to reach the Russia 2018 finals and McLeish will, no disrespect to an extremely capable and thoroughly decent man, not provide it for many.
With the sub-committee responsible for identifying the best candidate to lead the national team forward comprising of Alan McRae, the SFA president, Rod Petrie, the vice-president, and Ian Maxwell, the Partick Thistle general manager, there is, rightly or wrongly, the widespread suspicion that this is a decision forced through by the old guard.
McRae, the Cove Rangers chairman, knows McLeish from his Aberdeen days and Petrie, the Hibs chairman, worked with the former centre-half during his time at Easter Road. Did they overrule Maxwell? The full board could only consider the names they put forward.
Read more: Steven Thompson: Alex McLeish's success will be down to luck and not good business by the SFA
It all smacks, despite it coming four months after Strachan was told he would not be getting his contract renewed following the 2-2 with
Slovenia away, of desperation.
The SFA, no strangers to being criticised and lambasted by the media and general public, have been subjected to previously unprecedented levels of scrutiny in recent weeks as the result of a series of high-profile blunders.
The protracted and failed pursuit of Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill, the announcement that end-of-season friendlies in Peru and Mexico had been agreed, the resignation, under pressure, of chief executive Stewart Regan and Walter Smith choosing to put himself forward for consideration and then withdrawing from the running almost as quickly have not looked good for the governing body.
Did the SFA think that getting in somebody, anybody, would ease the growing pressure on them? Some would suggest it does. Remember, there have been calls for the governance of the game in this country to be overhauled, including by no less a figure than Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell, in recent weeks.
What is more, McLeish is, due to the fact that he wasn’t in a job, the cheaper option. That will undoubtedly have been attractive to an organisation that is not exactly awash with money after two decades of onfield failure. It took them months to put together the £500,000 needed to pay the compensation for O’Neill.
There are undoubtedly positives to this move. The new Scotland manager is well-liked and respected within the game and will not, unlike some who have occupied the position in the past, be fazed by media scrutiny of his efforts.
He is a big personality who hasn’t shirked a challenge either on or off the field since he left his home town of Barrhead and moved to Aberdeen to pursue his dream of becoming a professional footballer back in 1976.
But McLeish has not faced many sterner tests than the one he is about to take on.
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