McGhee ticks all the right boxes

IMPRESSIVE CVs have landed on the desk of Scottish Football Association chief executive Gordon Smith this week. One arrived from a man who had taken a team all the way to the World Cup quarter-finals.

"It was a well-written letter and only when you came to the end of it did he eventually say his success had been on one of those football manager computer games," says Smith. "We have had another from a guy who said he had coached his five-a-side team to their national cup final and some of the would-be 'entrants' have given the impression they see the process like the X Factor."

Smith and the SFA's three office bearers will reach a final decision in the new year. "And I include February as the new year," he says. "The timescale may possibly be dependant on whether we have a game that month."

Smith insists he is prepared to rule no-one in or out while carrying out the research he will then take to the 11-man SFA board. His thinking will not be affected by the possibility of his chosen one upping and leaving for the Premiership in the short-term.

"I want our manager to be attractive to clubs in the biggest league in the world. Because that can only happen if we are successful. I don't want us to have a man who remains in charge only because no-one else wants him. For the first time in their history, the SFA have made money on their recent coaches with compensation paid for Walter Smith, Archie Knox and now Alex McLeish. That has to be better than money having to be taken from the SFA's coffers to pay people off."

By playing hardball, the SFA have drawn a sum of around £1.5m from Birmingham to release McLeish from his contract. Smith hints that this could give them latitude to increase the salary on offer for the new man beyond the £350,000 plus bonuses that McLeish earned.

Both publicly and privately, recent days have seen the hats thrown into the ring of all who could be considered the front runners. Former Derby County manager Billy Davies, the currently resting Graeme Souness, Dundee United manager Craig Levein and Motherwell manager Mark McGhee are the front-runners. Smith may feel no need to look beyond these four.

For Souness, the cash would represent loose change. Even if this was bumped up to nearer the half million mark, as is believed might be on offer. But if it was another fat pay cheque the 54-year-old wanted at this stage in his life, he would not have been so unequivocal in courting the SFA this week, on the back of making plain his coveting of the Republic of Ireland vacancy. "I would be interested in taking a national team position," he said. "I've not been offered [one]."

His me, me, me approach wasn't as naked as that of Davies in a newspaper yesterday. "It is very important for the SFA and the Scotland fans that there's a level of commitment shown to the job of national manager," he said. "I would be prepared to devote five years of my life to the team. I was flattered and proud to hear my name mentioned in connection with the job and the next manager has to be a long-term appointment."

Souness is believed to be tickling Smith's fancy and it isn't difficult to see why. He is the biggest of the big beasts, a name of world renown and possesses all the necessary credentials. On the surface. Yet, the SFA chief executive might want to tread cautiously when assessing Souness's suitability, and that of Davies. For what McLeish demonstrated - and what proved fundamental to his success in the role - was the extent to which media relations and the ability to present a unifying, emollient persona to both public and players, has become crucial to the smooth handling of the national manager's duties. That Berti Vogts could not offer anything of the sort was instrumental in his downfall.

Since Walter Smith rehabilitated the national team, the job has become a pretty straightforward one in respect of the actual coaching. There are nine automatic first-picks, and Scotland are suited to playing 4-4-2 or 4-5-1, or minor variants of both, depending on the nature of the opponents. No new manager is likely to deviate greatly from that. Where the candidates could differ considerably is in how they handle the pressures of the post, and their impact on mood and harmony within the squad and on Scotland as a whole. This is where Levein and McGhee may hold an edge over their other two rivals.

Never mind that the apex of Souness's coaching may be behind him, the man is an abrasive, sometimes divisive, figure. Weaknesses he may share, to some extent, with Davies. Certain Scotland players have already expressed disquiet over the possibility of Souness taking over. He has practically made a virtue of fall-outs with players.

Davies's efforts on meagre budgets with Preston and Derby command as much respect as any work by Levein and McGhee but the man himself can be a difficult character. He has proved a challenge to club chairmen and seemed uncomfortable when a blinding spotlight was thrust on him.

Levein and McGhee, meanwhile, have positioned themselves as astute thinkers on the game with motivational qualities that match up to considerable tactical acumen. They are assured, composed figures whose passions have boiled over in the past, but are now rarely misplaced. Either would appear to fit the Scotland identikit, even if both might still have an eye on the Premiership. Of course, it is only a couple of years since Levein was lanced by Leicester, and even less time since McGhee was binned by Brighton. But they ought to be judged in the here and now. The way they have breathed new life into the previously moribund United and Motherwell has been remarkable.

The 50-year-old McGhee is further down the line in his coaching career than 43-year-old Levein, who had a rare bad day yesterday at home to Caley Thistle. McGhee has made his mistakes, not least in breaking contracts in the past. But he has remodelled himself since then. The fiery figure who was not averse to fighting with his players has now given way to a considered character and progressive coach. McGhee is the man.