Mark McGhee gets his Scotland chance at last

Mark McGhee, Gordon Strachan’s assitant, could have had the Scotland manager’s job itself this time five years ago, had it not been for an unfortunate set of circumstances.

I was then Chief Executive of the SFA, and Mark was on our short list to replace Alex McLeish.

He impressed us and was very much a live candidate.

The one thing he was not prepared to do was step into the post straight away.

Phil O’Donnell had tragically died at the end of 2007 and, as Motherwell’s manager of the time, Mark wanted to see the rest of the season through with his club.

We entirely sympathised with his view, as it was a tough time for everyone at Fir Park.

The fact remained we wanted someone in pretty much immediately.

So instead of Mark, the job went to George Burley, who had likewise interviewed well.

I am pleased to see Mark get his chance with the national team now. He will offer valuable support to Gordon Strachan.

Having been friends since their days playing for Aberdeen, they will know each other inside out.

Gordon will be able to trust Mark implicitly. As importantly, he will be able to count on him to give his honest opinion on team matters, rather than what he thinks the national manager wants to hear.

I also like the idea of recruiting a younger Scottish coach as a No. 3.

Bringing in someone like Paul Hartley would give the players someone closer to their age to identify with.

I am sure there would be a few who would fancy that role. My preference would be for a candidate who had represented Scotland regularly in recent years.

The focus will, of course, be on Gordon Strachan himself.

After four years at Celtic, that is a situation he should be comfortable with.

He drew a bit of criticism towards the end of his time there, but winning three titles was a very creditable achievement.

And if things did not go well at Middlesbrough, his decision to leave without any compensation was both impressive and very brave.

It doesn’t matter how much money you have, everyone has to manage their finances.

To walk away without taking an amount you are entitled to is unusual, to say the least.

You could argue it actually draws attention to how badly things had finished. A counterpoint, though, is that potential future employers might imagine a repeat with them would provoke the same principled stand.

In any case, let’s look ahead with confidence to success under Gordon’s charge.

The expanded European Championships in 2016 offers us a better chance than ever to get back to a major Finals.

With the rest of this World Cup qualifying campaign to prepare for that, the new manager’s enthusiasm and determination can make its mark.

I wish him well.