Craig Levein emerges as frontrunner for Scotland job

Published on Tuesday 17 November 2009 21:49

CRAIG Levein stayed silent on mounting speculation linking him with the Scotland job yesterday, but the Dundee United manager is emerging as the frontrunner to succeed George Burley.

• Picture: SNS

Scottish Football Association chief executive Gordon Smith, who has endured a turbulent relationship with Levein since he was appointed to the post, will brief the media at Hampden this morning on the procedure and timescale anticipated in the hunt for a new manager.

It is expected that Smith will also confirm compensation between the SFA and Burley, who was sacked on Monday after 22 months in the post, has been agreed in full. After negotiations, Burley is set to leave with a settlement in excess of 300,000.

The perceived bad blood that has existed between Levein and Smith has not stopped bookmakers making the Tannadice manager the clear favourite to take over the national team, his odds now as low as 5-2. Walter Smith is also viewed as a leading candidate to return to the post he left in 2007 to go to Rangers.

John Collins and Jimmy Calderwood, who have been among the many names suggested as contenders, both confirmed an interest in the vacancy yesterday, but Owen Coyle and Mark McGhee were quick to rule themselves out of the running, the latter describing it as a "rotten job".

The Aberdeen manager was interviewed for the position last time around, before Burley was appointed in January 2008, but the post no longer appeals to him. "Why any of us want to do this job, really, is ridiculous," he said. "The honest truth is, it's a rotten job. It's really difficult. Most of the time you're getting stick and most of the time everybody else knows your job better than you do. Therefore, it's not a great job. But we all still want to do it because we all believe we can get it right."

Coyle rejected overtures from Celtic earlier this year to stay at Burnley, and having helped the club make an impressive start to their first season in the Premier League, he reiterated that he is committed to staying at Turf Moor. "There's nothing to be said about Scotland, I'm the Burnley manager and that's it," Coyle said. "Without going overboard about it, we'll put some closure on this just now. I've been in the position before where there has been advances from other clubs and I have always said I am loving everything that I am doing at this club. That remains the case so I think that would tell everybody my feelings."

Former Hibs manager Collins admitted that he would be tempted by the post, but only if the SFA deemed him worthy of consideration.

"I'd be interested in managing the national team. But it's not for me to put my name forward, it's for the SFA to draw up their list," said Collins, who managed Belgian side Charleroi last season. But let's make no mistake about it, it's a very tough job."

Collins added: "As Graeme Souness said the other day (in ruling himself out], no-one is going to come in with a magic wand and turn us into a fantastic football team. There is a lot of work to be done and it will be one stage at a time."

Meanwhile, Calderwood, who has been out of work since quitting Aberdeen at the end of last season, said: "I will not put my name forward, but, if the SFA wanted to talk to me about the job, of course I would be interested. Who wouldn't?"