GORDON STRACHAN, the Scotland manager, has revealed he would consider becoming a director of football once he moves on from the national team.
Speaking as he announced Celtic's Ronny Deila, Derek McInnes of Aberdeen, John Hughes of Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Robbie Neilson of Hearts had made the shortlist for the Cheque Centre PFA Scotland Manager of the Year award, Strachan admitted he would be interested in a return to club football one day if it gave him an opportunity to help nurture young talent.
Strachan is a director at his own football foundation for teenagers and revealed it is the part of management that he finds most fulfilling. Anything that would allow him to work with youth players on a more regular basis would likely prove appealing in future.
"I would like to be a director of football one day or something where I could really help," he said. "Working with the youths, experimenting with things and working on how to make young players better - that would be great for me longer term.
"I am fixated right now with schoolboy football and youth academies. I was at a dinner last night and they shouldn't have asked me about young players because I could see them going, "do us a favour, shut it".
"I have a Strachan Foundation. Luke Laney who plays with Falkirk came from our foundation. Luke had never played academy football or anything to do with professional football. He was just a kid who wanted a chance and the foundation has not just helped him, we have sent players to universities in America and Australia. In the last few years we have helped 53 kids who would have been wondering about full-time jobs. Football is such a powerful tool you can do that.
"Those kids when they come along to us couldn't look you in the eye, they couldn't shake your hand and didn't know how to approach people. They are different people now. We just sent a kid away for a $160,000 scholarship from nothing. They don't have academic qualifications, but by the time they leave us they can go to university - through football. I have never planned anything in my life but I like the thought of doing something to improve football, and to help youngsters playing football."
Deila's recent admission that he "stared at the walls" following Celtic's Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Inverness drew an empathetic response from Strachan. There have been times too - he revealed - when a defeat has left him oblivious to the outside world.
"Yes, you sit in front of the television when you don't have a clue what is on," he added. "The wife slips you a cup of tea and then goes out of the room and leaves you. It is like that Mike Basset film [England Manager] when he is sitting in the hotel room looking around him thinking, "this is madness". There might be other ways of getting over it but unfortunately I couldn't do that. I just took the hit and then started again."
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