Alex McLeish is to be sacked, or relieved of his duties, as Scotland manager later today.
Keith Jackson has produced a couple of very strong leader articles over the last few days and is today claiming that time is up for the bumbling Scotland boss.
Almost all Celtic fans will be delighted to see the back of McLeish with his use or misuse of James Forrest over the last week typical of his erratic management.
At 1am this morning Jackson reported in the Record:
Alex McLeish is set to be relieved of his duties as Scotland manager over the next 24 hours.
Record Sport understands the team boss will hold talks with SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell today and be told he is to be taken out of the international firing line following the nightmarish double-header against Kazakhstan and San Marino.
Framing it as taking McLeish out of the firing line takes away some of the humiliation of being sacked just 13 months and less than 10 matches into his second tenure in charge.
If Maxwell does push the sacking through it will be a slap in the face for SFA President Alan McRae who made it very personal that it was his decision to appoint McLeish after Scotland were turned down by Michael O’Neill and Walter Smith.
The Record report added:
Maxwell has yet to call an emergency board meeting but it’s understood the rest of the directors are aware of his concerns over McLeish. It is expected they will be asked to officially rubber-stamp the decision to part company with the manager as early as next week.
McLeish has travelled back to the family home in London as he awaits his fate. He will now depart from Scotland for a second time having lasted just 12 matches with a win rate of less than 50 per cent having been beset throughout by a series of big-name withdrawals and retirals from his squad.
Scotland’s next matches are a double header against Cyprus and Belgium in June, the match against the Belgians looks one that is best avoided for the next boss with turning to Malky Mackay as caretaker boss a likely option for the SFA.
Kilmarnock’s Steve Clarke is probably the supporters choice to take over as full-time manager but it is far from certain that he would want to take on the job.
Scott Bain, Kieran Tierney, Callum McGregor, Forrest, Oli Burke and Lewis Morgan were all in McLeish’s last international squad.