The Scottish FA aims to be in a position to confirm the national team’s manager by Monday at the latest with Kilmarnock’s Steve Clarke the leading candidate to succeed Alex McLeish.
Derek McInnes, the Aberdeen manager, remains in the frame, while the Scotland Under-21 coach, Scot Gemmill, is believed to be the outsider of the three.
The association’s position is complicated by both clubs’ pursuit of third place and a guaranteed Europa League berth. The final round of fixtures in the Scottish Premiership take place on Sunday. Clarke has also spoken of a dilemma over where he manages next season owing to his professional contentment at Kilmarnock and his family living in England.
There would be no barrier to the former West Brom and Reading manager taking charge of Scotland while based south of the border but it cannot yet be guaranteed he would accept the advances of the Scottish FA.
Under Clarke, Kilmarnock have been rejuvenated, developing from relegation candidates to a side competing at the business end of Scotland’s top flight. Coincidentally, Clarke will appear before a Scottish FA disciplinary panel on Thursday on account of comments made about a referee in April.
The Aberdeen director, Dave Cormack, said McInnes “won’t be going” to the Scotland post. Sources believe that may have been a pre-emptive strike in the knowledge Clarke is the Scottish FA’s preferred candidate.
McLeish left the Scotland role in mid-April, a fortnight after a disastrous Euro 2020 qualifying defeat in Kazakhstan. Scotland had topped their Nations League section but his 14-month tenure proved generally unconvincing. Before hiring McLeish Scotland failed in an attempt to coax Michael O’Neill from Northern Ireland.
