Leading candidate Burley boasts impressive record

Published on Tuesday 22 January 2008 22:48

GEORGE Burley referred to it as an "honour" to be considered a candidate to manage Scotland and, with his dream set to become true, it is worth contemplating the kind of man who will follow in Alex McLeish's footsteps.

Burley's name is expected to be put in front of the SFA's ten-man board at Hampden today, by an interview panel which considers him the ideal man to continue the good work of McLeish and his predecessor Walter Smith, and guide Scotland through their qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Compensation with his current club Southampton and a mutually agreeable salary would still have to be thrashed out should the SFA board, as expected, ratify him as the preferred candidate, but it appears the job is Burley's if he wants it.

A look at his playing career and experience in management so far suggest he is well placed for the challenge ahead.

Like McLeish he was a defender, although his beat was the right side of defence rather the centre. His international career was not quite as distinguished as his potential predecessor, who amassed 77 caps for Scotland.

Burley won 11 caps between 1979 and 1982, with his last appearance coming in a 1-0 defeat to England at Hampden in 1982. He was selected for the World Cup squad that summer but did not feature in any of the side's three games.

Burley's club career was perhaps more satisfying and he excelled in a great Ipswich Town side of the late Seventies and early Eighties, alongside players such as Terry Butcher, John Wark and Alan Brazil. His debut in 1973 was an arduous one, forced to mark Manchester United's George Best at Old Trafford. He won an FA Cup winner's medal in 1978, beating Arsenal in the final. Injury, however, ruled him out of the club's other great success of that era, the Uefa Cup final in 1981 against AZ 67 Alkmaar.

Sir Bobby Robson was an early mentor to Burley during his playing career, and recently he reflected how his manager at Portman Road helped shape his own development as a coach. "Bobby Robson was a tremendous character," he said. "He had total respect. He was strong when he needed to be and was totally fair. He treated you like a father would.

"So I was brought up on that and at times I can be firm but I try to be human as well. I think those sort of managerial qualities, wherever you do it, are important."

These qualities have been to the fore in his stints at Ayr United, where he started in club management when aged just 34.

Spells back as a player at Falkirk and Motherwell, where he further strengthened his coaching credentials, were the prelude to a highly successful managerial career in England.

He did enough in the first few months of a short spell at Colchester United to alert Ipswich to his progress, and by midway through the 1994-5 season he was back at Portman Road. Here he stayed for eight years, leading the club back to the Premiership after a stirring comeback against Barnsley in the 2000 play-off final.

The following season he guided the side to heady heights of fifth in the top division, behind Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Leeds United. He was rewarded with not just UEFA Cup qualification, but also the title of manager of the year.

Predictably, the following season proved less successful and Ipswich fell back into Division One, now of course the Championship.

He was sacked during the season with Ipswich again struggling and in 2003 became interim manager of Derby County, when John Gregory was suspended by the club.

Having managed to keep the team in Division One, he then built a side which challenged for promotion back to the Premiership in 2004-05. They were ultimately thwarted in this aim and Burley left the club that summer, after a fall-out with director of football Murdo Mackay.

His next appointment saw Burley return to Scotland, this time as manager of Hearts.

His time at Tynecastle has been well documented but it again proved that Burley was his own man. He found it difficult to work with major shareholder Vladimir Romanov and with the Russian-born businessman suspecting Burley might be looking for pastures new, he cut the Scot adrift.

The news would have been shocking enough – Burley had only been in charge for 12 matches – but Hearts were top of the Premier League at the time, and playing some of the best football seen at Tynecastle in years.

It led to interest from a variety of English clubs and in December 2005 he joined Southampton, who he led to the play-offs last season.

"Everyone knows what he has done – he has done a great job everywhere he has been," said the former Scotland international and Chelsea winger Pat Nevin last night.

"He is the only man who has recently come close to breaking the Old Firm stronghold with Hearts.

"If he had been given more time he would have taken Celtic and Rangers to the wire."