WHILE delighted to have been appointed as chief executive of the Scottish Football Association, Ian Maxwell can’t help but notice the slight hint of uncertainty from those he has met that has accompanied their congratulations to him on his new role. It seems that previous occupants of the office have inspired little else than a sense of dread and impending doom, but the new man at the top of the game has eyes on the loftier goal of inspiring the nation.

To do that, he will first have to inspire confidence in the organisation he heads up. The SFA have public perception issues that would rival those of Cambridge Analytica, and Maxwell is under no illusions of the job he has on to turn that around.

“As part of my interview, we were asked to look at the strategic direction of the SFA,” Maxwell said. “Three words in the document were ‘Inspire A Nation’. That sounds like a big aim but it’s exactly why we are here - to inspire a nation to be involved in football, at whatever level it is, from as early as they can and for as long as they can.

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“Playing it, watching it, talking about it, dreaming about it - football is a massive part of Scottish culture. It is consumed at a huge rate on an hourly level now with social media and all the rest of it.

“As the national association, the onus is on us to drive football forward at every level.”

It is Maxwell who has been entrusted to sweep a new broom through the supposedly fusty old corridors of power and to shake up the blazers, and his enthusiasm for that task will likely be warmly received by clubs and supporters after the fractious reign of predecessor, Stewart Regan.

“It is a clean slate, it’s a fresh start,” he said. “I spoke to the staff on Monday and when you look at the organisation - the commercial director Chris Rawlings, the financial director Andrew Charters are new. Malky Mackay is fairly new, Alex McLeish is new and I’m new.

“When you combine that with the experience and knowledge we have in the building, that’s a really good place to be. It’s an opportunity to have some fresh eyes on it and have an understanding of how we do the things we do, then try and shape things the best way to drive things forward.

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“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t [think I could restore trust in the SFA]. It’s as simple as that.

“There are perceptions about the SFA because, a lot of times, when people aren’t entirely sure how things work, what they don’t know they make up.

“We have to change that mind-set and let people understand about the good work that we do.

“There is a lot of work being done behind the scenes and we maybe need to raise the profile so that people have an understanding of what we actually do.”

And so, to the task at hand. Maxwell, fresh from the devastation of watching Partick Thistle being relegated to the Championship on his last day as managing director at Firhill on Sunday, arrived on his first day at Hampden on Monday to an in-tray that could choke a horse.

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Crucial matters such as the notice of complaint served to Rangers over their UEFA licence in 2011/12, the direction of Project Brave and the future of the national stadium are all live issues that Maxwell must negotiate. On the latter concern, Maxwell says that the decision between Hampden and Murrayfield as the future base for the national side and major games, despite his own affection and affiliation to Queen’s Park, will not be one that is made by his heart rather than his head.

“Absolutely not, it can’t be,” he said.

“That’s not for the best interests of Scottish football, it’s not what my heart thinks, it’s what my head thinks. We have to be [clinical], we absolutely have to be.

“Murrayfield have gone through the process and engaged as much as Queen’s Park have. They’ve made no secret of the fact that they would love us to go there and we have to look at every different aspect, whether it’s operational, financial, strategic. All the different areas that you would look at when you are making that sort of decision and make the best one.

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“Obviously, I played at Queen’s Park and started my career there. I’ve got a lot of fondness for Queen’s Park but my job is now to make a decision based on the full membership and for the benefit of Scottish football, it’s not about me wanting Queen’s Park to do well or us to stay at Hampden.

“The board will make the right decision at the right time.”

That time will come in late June. Before then, Maxwell also has to deal with the small matter of a raft of sponsorship and broadcast deals that have expired, such as the Vauxhall sponsorship deal and the Scottish Cup broadcasting deal.

“It’s urgent,” Maxwell admitted. “Any time you get to the end of a sponsorship contract and you don’t have a renewal, then it’s urgent.

“It’s an opportunity as well. There is a real feeling of freshness around it. We have the Nations League. The commercial income is massively affected by performance on the pitch because that drives a lot of the football business. So, there are opportunities there to tweak things and do things slightly differently and look at how we bring in, what we bring in, why we bring it in and ways we can supplement that.”

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So, it is quite the task at hand for the 43-year-old, and coming from the relatively small pond of Partick Thistle, there are those who doubt his suitability to navigate such choppy waters. But Maxwell is steadfast in his belief that he can succeed where so many others have failed.

A closer working relationship between the SFA and the SPFL should naturally follow given Maxwell’s history on the boards of both organisations, but what else can we expect from the former Ross County, St Johnstone, St Mirren and Thistle defender?

“I think I’m a leader,” he said. “I’ve led teams from playing in them, coaching them and then recently leading a club.

“I engage, I communicate really well. That’s a massive part of this job, it’s about how you engage with stakeholders across the board. It’s about taking them on a journey and getting them to come with us, getting the staff to buy into it and see where we are at the end of that journey.

“I’m comfortable leading, I’m happy to be the guy who is directing. There are a lot of good staff here and I’m not here to do their job. I’m here to help them and make sure we are going in the right direction.”