The SFA today said they would be looking for a man with “experience and authority" to lead Scotland to the European Championships in 2012. Chief executive Gordon Smith took the opportunity to deny that there was a short list in place yet.
The SFA now insist that they will take their time to appoint their new manager, marking out February 2010 as the latest that the post will be filled.
The former TV pundit added that there would be no open discussion of the candidates before the appointment but refused to rule out a foreign manager, hinting that they may be willing to part with more money to secure a high profile applicant.
"We haven't decided on that yet," he said. "We're looking for someone who's got experience and authority in the game.
"There will be a lot of speculation coming, but there will be a procedure," he said. "There's no shortlist of candidates at the moment.
“We will not be discussing any names whatsoever in the process going forward. We didn't last time. I don't think it's fair to discuss any names in public."
It was also revealed at the press conference that bad boys Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor will be offered redemption if the new manager wants them to play.
Smith then insisted that his spats with frontrunner Craig Levein would not affect the process, saying "I don't have a problem with anyone in the game," before denying that there had been any issue at all with the Dundee United manager.
