Henry McLeish believes Scottish football can learn a lot from German model

HENRY McLeish has revealed he will travel to Germany in search of inspiration and ideas to influence the second part of his Scottish Football Review.

• Henry McLeish was at Hampden Park yesterday to discuss the next stage of his Scottish Football ReviewPicture: PA

The former first minister, who addressed deficiencies in youth development and facilities in the first part of the review published four months ago, is now turning his attention to the senior game in Scotland which will include recommendations on league reconstruction and the relationship between the SFA, SPL and SFL.

Germany's reputation as a byword in efficiency may have taken a battering in Scotland during the calamitous reign of Berti Vogts as national team manager, but McLeish is convinced they have much to offer in providing a template for a strong league structure operating in tandem with a successful international team.

"Look at Germany: pretty impressive in terms of the World Cup this year, in terms of youth and in terms of the relationship between the leagues and the central football authority," he said.

"We have a lot to learn. And we can learn. I hope that I will be picking up on the German model, either through further reading or in fact by visiting.

"With the German performance in the World Cup, they have a very good youth set-up leading up to it. The key is that the youth comes through from the schools, the youth organisations, through the clubs to the national side.

"They seem to have a particularly good relationship which allows all to participate for the national good.

"One of the big issues in Scotland is that clearly, and rightly, the SPL clubs are businesses. Often they are big businesses. They have shareholders and are commercial. They can't wait forever for performances. On the other hand, we want the best national side that we can and we want to give the coach the best support we can.

"It seems, and this is what I want to investigate further, that the Germans have got a mix of personalities, relationships, ideas and a youth pathway that works for them.

"The second point is that the German system is highly federalised. In Scotland, we have a regional structure, as do the Dutch. So I'm keen not to get carried away with what people say about it.

"I would like to visit Germany and find out at first hand the relationship between the centre and the leagues and also the critical thing about how we can work better together in Scotland to get the youth elite talent issue right."

McLeish, who hopes to publish the second part of his review at the end of October, would not commit himself to any precise aspects of German football which could become recommendations.He did admit, however, that their policy of heavily discounted admission prices, which has given the Bundesliga the highest attendance figures in the world, may be considered.

"It could be, but I've got to be a bit careful how much detail I go into," he added.

"The German ticket prices are cheap, but again you have to look at the circumstances. One of the issues of looking abroad is there is no point looking at a complete model and thinking you can bring it back here where the conditions are completely different. So what I'm trying to do is look at some of the best ideas which can maybe be integrated or grafted on to what we are doing in Scotland.

"It's about looking at what's fit for purpose for Scotland because every country differs. We need to be governed in a way that's efficient, effective and, above all, makes sense and is coherent. Currently, there are a lot of coherence issues which need to be addressed, so these are the kind of basic factors that are going to motivate me.

"We don't want to get carried away by the way Spain play or the way Germany organise themselves. But one of the things you take from the Germans, Spanish and Dutch is an incredibly focused mindset. Success does not come easily. We have to admit and accept that we are talking about the long haul here.

"We won't get success overnight because a lot of this is just a hard, determined focus and getting the mindset which will create the kind of quality young players who will grace our clubs and our national side. So if you look at those countries, they seem to have a better mindset.

"I am not keen to give any hostage to fortune in terms of being specific on what I might suggest. I know there are a lot of proposals around, but I'm going back to basics and asking: 'If we need to change, why do we need to change?'"

Speaking at Hampden as the SFA announced Robert Wiseman Dairies as a partner of their Street Football programme, McLeish expressed his gratification at the response to the first part of his review.

"If someone comes along arguing for change, there is always going to be some reticence towards it," he said. "But I have been very impressed by the level of interest and co-operation I have seen from the SFL, SPL and from within the SFA. The conditions are good for these changes to happen.

"I am very confident the review can take the game forward. You'd expect me to be confident, because if I'm not, who is? But I genuinely believe the confidence is well founded. For the first time, in the year I've been involved, I can see an amazing turnaround. There is a complete sea-change in the attitudes of the three footballing authorities to each other and also within each of them in relation to what they are seeking to achieve."