The Herald understands McAllister is on the verge of accepting a full-time post in England and outlined his reasons to the Scotland manager yesterday. Burley is expected back in Glasgow today after a holiday in Spain but has already made contact with an alternative candidate and will move quickly to complete the appointment in time for Scotland’s friendly against Japan in two weeks.

Last night, McAllister explained his decision to The Herald and stressed it was the part-time nature of the role that ultimately proved prohibitive to his ambitions. It is believed he has received two tempting offers to remain in England and at 44 is determined to re-establish himself after being sacked by Leeds United nine months ago.

“Firstly, it goes without saying that I was flattered to be asked by George during what was an informal chat last week,” he said, “but to be honest, at this stage of my coaching career I think it is more important to hold out for a full-time job at club level. I don’t really want to elaborate on that because of the sensitive nature of the situation but I have a great deal of respect for George Burley and when he asked me to have a chat about it, I was keen to hear what he had to say about the role.

“As a former Scotland captain I would have been immensely proud and honoured to have worked with the international set-up again and try to get the country into a major championship final again. I have a couple of irons in the fire down here and the major attraction is that they are full-time posts so I had to bear that in mind. I wish George all the best for the future.”

McAllister’s decision to remain south of the border is a blow for Burley so soon after being given a vote of confidence to remain in charge after failing to take Scotland to the World Cup play-offs. Officially, Pressley stood down to concentrate on his coaching commitments at Falkirk but a lack of respect among senior Scotland players and a dilution of his responsibilities were the main reasons for his departure.

Burley’s need for a quick appointment has been intensified by Terry Butcher’s unavailability for the trip to Yokohama to play Japan on October 10. The Inverness manager has a league match against Queen of the South to take charge of but he will retain his position as Burley’s assistant after the reshuffle.