Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has thrown his hat into the ring for the Scotland job – along with a number of high-profile foreign coaches.
Record Sport can reveal that the 71-year-old has contacted the SFA as the race hots up to find Alex McLeish’s successor.
Eriksson’s name was put forward by chief executive Ian Maxwell during Tuesday’s board meeting at Hampden, along with those of several other candidates from overseas.
The big-earning Swede now hopes to make it on to Maxwell’s shortlist along with homegrown candidates such as Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes, Sunderland’s Jack Ross, Steve Clarke of Kilmarnock and Scotland Under-21 manager Scot Gemmill.
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But it’s far form certain Maxwell will be convinced of Eriksson’s credentials to take on the Scotland job, 13 years after he left England in highly controversial circumstances.
The vastly experienced Eriksson has been out of work since January when he led the Philippines to an Asian Cup whitewash with three straight defeats against South Korea, China and Kyrgyzstan.
He has spent much of the last decade raking in fortunes on a tour of football outposts all over the globe.
Eriksson became England’s first foreign manager in January 2001 but left after the World Cup in 2006 after being lured into an infamous “fake sheikh” sting by the News of the World.
In five years in the job he earned in excess of £20million but failed to get beyond a quarter-final in three tournaments.
Even so Eriksson’s tenure was widely looked upon as a success but recently his career has been on the slide.
Before joining the Philippines in October he was axed by Chinese League One side Shenzhen after a nine-game run without a win.
Now he’s angling for another earner from the SFA but his wage demands will have to be reduced considerably to be considered a viable contender.
However, with Scotland’s play-off place for Euro 2020 already secured Eriksson may be tempted by the offer of a massive bonus from the £13m qualification windfall which will be up for grabs.
