Next Scotland manager free to pick banned duo

Published on Wednesday 18 November 2009 22:11

THE next Scotland manager will be handed carte blanche to revoke the international exile of Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor under new procedures introduced by SFA chief executive Gordon Smith.

• Barry Ferguson was banned after making this gesture to photographers at Hampden. Picture: PA

The SFA initially decided in April that both players would "no longer be considered for international duty" as a consequence of their part in the infamous 'Boozegate' episode at Cameron House and their subsequent two-fingered reaction to photographers at Hampden.

But Smith revealed yesterday that whoever succeeds George Burley, sacked as manager on Monday, will be empowered to recall former captain Ferguson and goalkeeper McGregor to the fold. The same policy will apply to Rangers striker Kris Boyd who withdrew his services from Scotland under Burley after being left on the bench during the 0-0 draw against Norway at Hampden during the ill-fated World Cup qualifying campaign.

The original ban on Ferguson and McGregor was imposed by the SFA's executive board, headed by president George Peat, in consultation with Burley. But Smith says the Scotland manager alone will now determine who plays for the national team. "I would leave it to the manager," said Smith. "I would have no problem with a manager deciding to bring them back. I never said it was a life ban (for Ferguson and McGregor]. The SFA said they would not be chosen again which was definitely the position of the manager at the time. All I did at the time was draw a reference to the difference between life and career in football terms.

"It is still the case until someone comes in and wants to change that. That's why I said it was never a lifetime ban. You can't ban someone for life, it's illegal.

" We have changed the whole procedure so the manager is responsible for discipline.

"The board are saying the manager will have the autonomy to do this. It will be a managerial decision. I'm determined that will be allowed, that the board will say 'yes, he can do that'. In my opinion, the new manager will have 100 per cent control of the selection process.

"The new manager will have a say in who he wants to play because when I brought in a new code of conduct for the SFA it meant that the manager has the decision on all forms of discipline within the team.

"I felt it was the best way forward that the manager should be totally responsible for decisions regarding disciplinary matters and will decide who he picks and who he doesn't pick. That will be the same if a new manager comes in.

"I'm quite sure he'll be given the licence to pick whoever he wants, provided the ones who are out of the scene do want to be involved and do want to show the supporters that they are still people who want to play for their international team and repatriate themselves."

Smith, facing the media for the first time since Burley was dismissed in the wake of last Saturday's dismal 3-0 defeat by Wales in Cardiff, intends to have the new manager in place ahead of the Euro 2012 qualifying draw in Warsaw on 7 February. Scotland do not play again until the Czech Republic visit Hampden on 3 March.

Despite increasingly fevered speculation that Dundee United manager Craig Levein is the leading contender for the job, Smith insisted no shortlist has yet been drawn up and that potential candidates will not be discussed by the SFA board until their next meeting at the start of December. He did, however, dismiss long-standing rumours within football that an acrimonious personal relationship with Levein would be an obstacle to his candidacy.

Asked if he has ever had a problem with Levein, Smith gave a firm "No" in response. "I don't know where that has come from," Smith added. "There is no agenda with me and anyone in football who would be a candidate. I've no idea how that has come about."

Smith refused to discuss the individual claims of possible candidates but did say that those who have apparently ruled themselves out of the running, such as Rangers manager Walter Smith, would still be sounded out if the SFA decided they were right for the post.

"Some people are ruling themselves out, some people are ruling themselves in," Gordon Smith added. "I don't want to get involved in that. But if we identify someone as a candidate who has appeared to rule themselves out, we would still approach them. There is always a chance they have ruled themselves out to protect themselves from being pestered. We need to sit down first and foremost and have an idea going forward of the type of candidate we are looking for."

It would appear, however, that Graeme Souness' comments earlier this week, when he criticised the quality of players at Scotland's disposal, has ensured he will not be the subject of overtures from Smith and the SFA over the next few weeks. Souness was interviewed for the job last time around and has stated he will not be putting his name forward again.

"I think it's a difficult job but I don't think it's an impossible job as has been suggested," said Smith when asked about Souness' assessment. "I'm hoping to find a manager who actually has belief he can do something with the set of players, rather than think it is impossible. I wouldn't want to be appointing anyone who says 'Well, I'm getting the job but these players are hopeless'. Do you want that? I don't think so."

Smith concedes the current salary of about 300,000 for the Scotland manager is prohibitive when it comes to drawing up a list of candidates and he is ready to press the SFA board to increase the sum on offer. "We are not going to get the top guys, we can't afford them," he said. "That's the truth. But we need to see whether there will be a budget there in order to attract a certain level at least. That's what we have to find out. We would have to consider as a board whether to extend it this time. Our budget will improve when the new broadcasting deal kicks in next year.

"We didn't push the boat out before George came in with Alex McLeish and Walter Smith but got high calibre candidates. So it's not necessarily always a financial aspect. If you go out and spend the money and don't get success, then you have two bad elements to it. You've got the wrong manager at a very high cost. So you have to take that into consideration.

"We have a budget allocated to different aspects of the game. The biggest problem nowadays is if you are competing with the English Premier League or Championship, you would get very few people who would consider the international job compared to the money on offer down there. The last time, I had a list of people at the highest level of the game who would be potential Scotland managers and we had to rule them out."

Smith, who said he will again consult Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson in his search for the new manager, accepts he is viewed as the man responsible for Burley's appointment and subsequent failure despite the final recommendation being made to the full board by a vote of the four-man SFA executive of which he is a member along with Peat and vice-presidents Campbell Ogilvie and Alan McRae.

"It probably does reflect on me," said Smith. "You are tasked with appointing the right manager and you have to do that. At the SFA, it is not the chief executive's job to appoint the manager. If that changed, I would be okay with that. If the board decided it was just down to me, then I would take full responsibility.

"I don't envisage that happening and I'm not necessarily saying I want it to happen. But if the board decide that is the way forward, I would accept it and take full responsibility for what happened after that. I don't know if it would be better, it would just be a different way of doing it.

"I do a lot of the work in terms of narrowing it down to a shortlist, due diligence you would call it. You would never pick anyone unless you had full confidence that you had the right person. I thought we had with George Burley. So I would say the next one is definitely a huge decision."

Return of rebels splits Tartan Army

SCOTLAND fans are split with regards the possible return to international football of Barry Ferguson, Allan McGregor and Kris Boyd, according to Tartan Army representatives.

West of Scotland Tartan Army spokesman Hamish Husband said that supporters of the national side would not be unanimously in favour of a clean slate for the three players.

He said: "There are plenty of players who have come back after being punished or turning their back on their country but I believe the return of Ferguson, McGregor and Boyd would split the Tartan Army.

"Some believe that two out of those three players are as good or better than anything we have got. They will look at our lack of goals and wonder why the second highest scorer in the history of the SPL (Boyd] doesn't play for Scotland. Others, though, believe that players have one chance and if they has been punished or turn their back on Scotland, then that's it for life."

Tam Ferry, East of Scotland Tartan Army co-ordinator, said Sport that Rangers striker Boyd would have the least trouble appeasing the Scotland fans.

He said: "Most fans would like to see a proven goalscorer back (Boyd] but as far as the other two are concerned, the fans would be split."

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