Gordon Strachan’s future as Scotland manager is expected to be resolved by the end of the week. The 60-year-old’s contract is up in November, and having failed to lead the Dark Blues to the World Cup play-offs Sunday’s draw away to Slovenia is predicted to be his last game in charge. The future for Scotland may start sooner rather than later.
But who will lead that future? Speculation is swirling over Strachan’s potential replacements, with the runners and riders already jostling for position. Some names make sense, like Michael O’Neill - the Edinburgh-based Northern Ireland boss who is on the brink of taking the Green and White Army to their second successive major tournament.
Then there’s David Moyes. The former Everton and Manchester United manager is currently among the favourites to take over from Strachan, with the 54-year-old currently out of work since leaving Sunderland at the end of last season. Moyes has a good relationship with the Scottish FA and would surely take the job. This is worrying.
Moyes is pretty much the last man Scotland should be turning to right now. The Dark Blues need someone to reinvigorate a tired squad. They need fresh blood, with the likes of Darren Fletcher, James Morrison, James McArthur and Charlie Mulgrew all giving Scotland a weary look over the past few outings.
If energy is what Scotland needs, Moyes is hardly the best-equipped candidate to offer that. At Man Utd, Real Sociedad and Sunderland, his biggest failing was in the stagnation of entire institutions. Something about Moyes inspires, well, a lack of inspiration. International football is largely about maximising the talent at your disposal, and Moyes has shown nothing at club level to suggest he could do this for Scotland.
There are so many better candidates out there, better-suited to taking over from Strachan. O’Neill is, of course, the frontrunner for many, and with good reason. He has a track record of getting the most from a limited squad, excelling in the international area. Plus, he knows the Scottish game inside out, living and previously working in the country.
But even if the Scottish FA choose to go in a different direction, or if O’Neill gets a better option, Moyes should be nowhere near the shortlist. He is precisely the sort of character and manager they should be actively seeking to avoid. Scotland need someone who offers something different, because what they have been trying for the past two decades isn’t working.
Even if it means going foreign, the Scottish FA should look past Moyes. Just because Berti Vogts was deemed to be one of the worst Scotland managers in history doesn’t mean there isn’t another foreign manager out there who could do an effective job. Look at Lars Lagerback, the Swedish coach who took Iceland to the quarter finals of Euro 2016. Smaller countries often have to look outside their own borders to make the most of what they have.
Moyes would be the least inspiring appointment possible. His hiring would be a sign that the Scottish FA have essentially given up on the national team, just handing the job to whoever chief executive Stewart Regan already has on speed dial. It would follow on from the equally uninspiring appointment of Malky Mackay as technical director.
So while Moyes’ C.V. might put him in the discussion, we must look carefully at exactly what he has achieved over the past few years. There’s nothing in there to suggest that he is the man to turn around Scotland’s fortunes. In fact, he would likely make things even worse.
