He is odds-on favourite to succeed Gordon Strachan but it is understood the governing body is also considering other candidates, including performance director Malky Mackay.

Smith, 69, who previously managed Scotland between 2004 and 2007, appeared to have called time on his dugout career when he stepped down as Rangers manager in 2011 after winning his 21st trophy as Ibrox boss.

Despite spending the last spent seven years in retirement – barring a short spell as Rangers chairman – Smith has emerged as the leading candidate to take over from Strachan after the SFA’s failure to land its No 1 target, Michael O’Neill.

Walter Smith was Scotland manager between 2004 and 2007 and is considering a return to the job.

That news, though, has split opinion amongst the Tartan Army, with some supporters calling for a younger manager with a fresh approach. But former Scotland midfielder Colin Cameron reckons the time is ripe for Smith to return to the national team.

The former Hearts and Wolves midfielder, who now works as Lowland League outfit EduSport Academy’s Under-20s coach, said: “Walter has the right credentials to come in and do the job required. He’d be a great appointment.

“He’s been out of the game for a few years but that doesn’t concern me at all. He may not have been involved in the nitty gritty but he’ll still have been paying attention to what’s going on in the Scottish game and will know the players around. He certainly hasn’t lost any of his years of experience. So the fact he hasn’t been in the dugout for a while wouldn’t bother me, especially because with the international job standing on the sideline at matches is only a small part of it. It’s more about being out on the road looking at who is playing well.”

Cameron won 28 caps under Craig Brown and Berti Vogts but it was his experience of working under the former Germany boss that has convinced him the SFA should opt for the safe bet in Smith rather than gamble on another foreign appointment.

“There are some really good managers out there and a lot of countries do appoint foreign coaches to lead their national team,” said Cameron.

“But me personally, I think the fans are so important to our side and if you’ve got a manager from Scotland you get more from the fans and more from the players too.

“It was difficult working under Berti. Did he get a harder time because he wasn’t Scottish? Yeah, that and the fact it can be a different mentality.

“His methods were totally different from Craig’s and the language barrier, while it wasn’t a big issue, there were wee things that I felt with him not being Scottish didn’t help.

“Certainly from the names I’ve heard Walter is the one to go for.”

Reports yesterday suggested Smith would only take the job on his own terms and would want the final say on his backroom staff, suggesting he may resist plans to pair him with a younger coach.

Performance director Mackay, meanwhile, is now also understood to be under consideration for the manager’s job. Mackay took charge of Scotland for the friendly international against the Netherlands at Pittodrie in November.

The former Watford and Cardiff manager made no secret of his desire to land the job on a permanent basis but the then SFA chief executive Stewart Regan ruled him out. But with Regan now gone, Mackay has come back into the running.

Walter Smith holds preliminary talks with SFA over Scotland job