Defian Alex McLeish was clinging to his job on Monday night as he insisted he would scour the country looking for a new Kenny Dalglish or Joe Jordan to haul Scotland out of the depths of despair.
The national team boss has survived last week’s Euro Championship debacle for the immediate future as the SFA take stock of the shambolic display in Kazakhstan and the tepid reaction against San Marino.
The SFA board resisted the temptation to call an emergency meeting on Monday and are determined to avoid a knee jerk reaction - but it’s understood the unhappiness and anger of the Tartan Army is shared on Hampden’s sixth floor.
McLeish, though, have vowed to carry on and insisted he will keep looking for players who can make a difference.
He said: “There is no meeting scheduled with me and the board, not to my knowledge anyway. I’ll be in with my coaching staff over the next two or three days for our de-brief and I’ll just carry on as normal.
“I know the football world is fickle in this modern age but, yes, I would like to cement myself in there and try and take it forward.
“I’m just going to get my head down now for the games coming up in June and start getting out on the road again, watching players and seeing if we can unearth someone else who can be a fitting addition to the squad, someone who could blow us away.
“We’re looking for the new Dalglish or Jordan, legendary names. We don’t have those kind of players going about at the moment.
““We’ve got players who are scoring goals at their clubs and that’s the reason for putting them in the squad. However, this is a different level.”
Emergency board meetings can only be called by the SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell or president and vice president Alan McRae and Rod Petrie - and the latter two are McLeish’s biggest allies.
However, their hand could still be forced by the other members, who include SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster, Alloa chairman Mike Mulraney, Scottish amateurs boss Thomas McKeown and non executive director Ana Stewart.
So far, they believe it’s better to draw breath and evaluate the situation ahead of the games against Cyprus and Belgium in June, reckoning it’s more important to make the right decision than the quickest.
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It remains to be seen if they will call a meeting this week to formally rake over the coals, or wait until their next scheduled get together in mid-April.
McLeish is determined to stay on, but the calamity of the 3-0 defeat in Kazakhstan was only compounded in the eyes of SFA board by group rival Russia’s 4-0 romp there on Sunday night.
McLeish added: “Listen, we all feel it. We feel it. We are desperate for Scotland to qualify for a major tournament.
“Everybody is really up for it and we know that. We are trying to do everything we can to help the players progress.
“My future isn’t in my hands but I’ve just got to keep going and keep encouraging these players.”
