SCOTTISH migrants have found gainful employment in Lancashire for centuries and it is a mutual affinity which shows little sign of abating.

But where once the trades in question were steel and coal, the growth industry these days is football management.

When Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers both saw fit to dispense with the Glaswegian occupants of their manager's office – Steve Kean and Owen Coyle respectively – it was little surprise that two of the first men they should turn to should also be Clyde built. As yet, neither deal has been finalised, but Billy McKinlay, after the best part of 10 years working his way through the ranks at Fulham, and Dougie Freedman, fresh from a formidable rebuilding job at Crystal Palace, may well be the next Scots to chisel out a reputation at the coalface. Steven Pressley, the Falkirk manager, is another who has been mentioned in dispatches regarding a move to fill the vacancy at another Lancashire club, Burnley.

If Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United is the Godfather of the bunch, Craig Brown is another elder statesman who knows all about this peculiar football affinity. He spent two years at Preston North End from 2002 to 2004, and left a Lancashire legacy at the club which was subsequently carried on by his assistant Billy Davies, David Moyes, Alan Irvine and Darren Ferguson. Moyes these days, of course, presides over the finest Everton team for many a year while the Scottish contingent is completed by Paul Dickov at Oldham Athletic and Eric Black, currently manfully filling in as caretaker at Ewood Park.

Brown who worked with both McKinlay and Freedman during his time as national team manager is delighted but not surprised to see them making such progress in the game. He remains particularly close to McKinlay, the former Dundee United midfielder, a player who would have won far more than his final tally of Scotland caps were it not for the abilities of the likes of John Collins and Paul McStay. McKinlay was one of a number of Scottish players who accompanied Brown to a coaching course with the Irish FA in Belfast, and now has augmented his Premier League experience with a role as his old Dundee United pal Michael O'Neill's assistant with the national team.

"That area is a hotbed of football and it is well north so it seems to suit everyone," said Brown. "I am not surprised that Billy is getting talked about as a potential Blackburn manager, because they used to love him down there. I used to phone Kenny [Dalglish] about Billy when he was managing Blackburn and I was with the Scotland team. Kenny used to tell me what he couldn't do which was interesting, because most managers used to say about a player 'well, he can do this or do that'.

"He [McKinlay] will be a top manager," added Brown. "He is tactically aware, has been first-team coach at Fulham for quite a while now, and learned from guys like Roy Hodgson, Chris Coleman and Mark Hughes. When I worked for the Irish FA course I had three young lads over with me, McKinlay, Eric Black and Stevie Kean, all three of whom are outstanding coaches.

"I joke with him all the time. He said to me once 'you only gave me 29 caps, and all but five of them were from the bench so I will make sure I give Niall McGinn more than that'. McKinlay was one of the men who masterminded the result in Portugal and McGinn says he is outstanding."

Another young man in a hurry is Freedman, even if there was confusion yesterday as caretaker bosses Jimmy Phillips and Sammy Lee insisted they would still be in charge of Bolton this weekend. Freedman played and scored in Brown's last game in charge of Scotland, a 2-1 win against Latvia in October 2001, and also featured in Berti Vogts' first match in charge, the 5-0 defeat in Paris. He made himself a legend as a player in two spells at Crystal Palace but has managed to exceed that with his achievements in the manager's office, knocking Manchester United out of the League Cup last year and starting this season with an unlikely charge to the play-off places bolstered the likes of David Goodwillie on loan from Blackburn.

"He is a great guy, with a great attitude and was very wise to bring in Lennie Lawrence as his assistant," said Brown. "All the feedback I have had back from Palace about Dougie has been excellent. I am sure Sir Alex would be equally complimentary about him, even after what happened last season."