GORDON SMITH, the former Scottish FA chief executive, believes new President Rod Petrie has to be more open in public and with fans.

Petrie didn’t speak to the Press when he was installed at Hampden last week and chief executive Ian Maxwell admitted the Association will have to try and ‘humanise’ the Hibernian chairman.

And Smith reckons it was an opportunity missed as Maxwell was the only man to speak in front of the cameras and tape recorders.

Smith said: “We knew it was going to happen, it’s the normal system that’s in place at the SFA that you are Vice-President and then you become President.

“The thing about Rod is that he is strong and opinionated but that’s at boardroom level, he’s not been someone who’s done much in the media at all. But in the boardroom in meetings he will very much give his opinion. He’s quite strong in his opinions.

“I thought he should have [spoken to the media]. I don’t know if he maybe feels that he’s gone down that line now, to just stay in the background and work away.

“He’s not been doing any media stuff as far as I can see. The last thing he did, which was a disappointment, was after the cup final when he said Hibs fans had shown ‘exuberance’.

“He should have apologised for getting that wrong, and come out and said he made a mistake by saying that, as if to say it was nothing, a bit of exuberance, when actually players were attacked that day. I think that’s the last time he ever said anything in the media.”

The move that saw Petrie rise to the top of the tree at Hampden has been criticised in some quarters as he succeeded Alan McRae.

Petrie was unchallenged for the position and Smith said: “I think there should be more of a democracy and vote on these situations.

“It shouldn’t just be because you are in that position and you work your way through and you get elected. There should be more each time the role comes up and people should be looking at it and have an idea. It shouldn’t necessarily be the Vice President that automatically becomes President, it should be more democratic.

“All you can say is that everybody that gets the job, because of the system that is in place, is experienced. They have been on the SFA board for eight years prior to that in positions below that. When I was at the SFA, it was George Peat, Campbell Ogilvie and Alan McRae, so you knew who was coming.”