• Ferguson not willing to return to international
football
• FA tried three times to lure United manger to England job
The Scottish FA wanted to appoint Ferguson while
allowing the 67-year-old to continue with his job at Manchester
United.
Sir Alex
Ferguson rejected the opportunity to
manage Scotland on a
part-time basis for the second time in his career before George
Burley was appointed to the role last January.
A direct inquiry was made by the Scottish Football Association's
board after Alex McLeish departed for Birmingham City, with a view
to appointing Ferguson while allowing the 67-year-old to continue
with his job at Manchester
United. However, it quickly became apparent that
Ferguson was not willing to return to international football and it
seems certain one of Scotland's finest managers will never work in
the country again.
Ferguson was part of the Scotland coaching staff when they
qualified for the 1986 World Cup. He stepped into the manager's
position on a caretaker basis after the death of Jock Stein and led
the Scots in Mexico. To simplify the dual roles, Ferguson had at
the time appointed Archie Knox as his co-manager at the pair's
club, Aberdeen.
His time with Scotland ended with his move to United but it has
been a long-held criticism of the SFA that it had apparently never
tried to lure him back to lead the international side. That move
was made in early 2008, only to be met with an instant refusal. A
shortlist of Burley, Graeme Souness, Mark McGhee and the late Tommy
Burns was subsequently drawn up.
Ironically, Scotland's oldest rivals have targeted Ferguson as a
potential manager on three occasions. David Davies, the former
executive director of the Football Association, revealed a year ago
that he pinpointed Ferguson to succeed Terry Venables, Glenn Hoddle
and Kevin Keegan as England manager, a possibility Ferguson
rejected each time.
Ferguson has made it clear he would not take on another job in
club football when he severs ties with United. It had been
suggested he would manage the Great Britain football team in the
2012 Games but, following a battle between the home nations'
football associations, the playing and coaching staff are set to be
English.
It is widely accepted Burley will be removed from the manager's
job if his team do not beat Macedonia on Saturday and Holland four
days later, leaving Scotland almost certain to miss out on a World
Cup play-off place. Gordon Strachan is the favourite to replace him
but it remains to be seen if the former Celtic manager retains his
interest in a job for which he was overlooked in 2004. Walter
Smith, a former Scotland manager, may be a candidate with his
contract at Rangers due to expire at the beginning of next year
although the SFA says a provisional list of candidates has not been
compiled.