Scotland: Burley faces axe as Keegan approached

Square football sources understand that George Burley will be sacked tonight by Scotland if they fail to beat Iceland and it’s claimed that officials have already opened talks with former England managers Kevin Keegan and Steve McClaren as possible replacements.

George Burley’s tenure as Scotland boss has been dogged with problems since he succeeded Walter Smith 14 months ago but officials are prepared to cut their losses and risk the wrath of the fans by hiring an Englishman to run the national team.

Former England and Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan, who runs a Soccer Circus in Glasgow, has allegedly been in talks with senior figures in the Scottish game about making a return to the game and Steve McLaren is reportedly close to walking out on FC Twente to help Scotland qualify for the World Cup in 2010.

Even Burley’s assistant and former England captain Terry Butcher is being linked with the role as Scotland’s World Cup hopes hang in the balance.

Burley’s reign as Scotland manager has been a bumpy ride. The fans have questioned his tactics and ability to lead the national side, players like Lee McCulloch and Rangers team-mate Kris Boyd have retired from international football and Burley has managed just one win as national coach. Defeat at home tonight against Iceland would surely signal the end of Burley’s spell as Scotland manager, but the alleged moves for two former England managers is sure to infuriate the passionate Scots.

A close friend of Keegan told the Icelandic paper Piral Lofo said: “He’s enjoyed his time in Scotland and loves the passion that the Scots have for the game that he would love it, just love it, if he could replace Burley as Scotland manager. He feels as though he has a lot of unfinished business in the game and guiding Scotland to their first finals in more than a decade would be a great achievement for him.”

And sources close to McClaren claim that he has been looking back at his Scottish ancestry and wants to put the Scots back on the international map again.

However, one Scotland international, who refused to be named, said: “I can’t believe it. It’s bad enough having that Butcher as number two without Keegan or McClaren being our manager. It’s not as though they achieved much with England though. Keegan’s a bottler and McClaren’s a wally, with or without a brolly.

“I know we haven’t been playing well under George but come off it, replace him with an Englishman. No way! There must be better alternatives than that. What about Mark McGhee or Craig Levein? I think I’d rather have Bertie Vogts back instead of an Englishman.”

Scotland of course famously went down the foreign manager route with Bertie Vogts during the early part of this decade only to become a laughing stock of world football. It was only under Alex McLeish and then Walter Smith that Scotland started to regain their pride in their national side. But if Burley fails would Scotland be willing to swallow their pride and employ an Englishman?

• If you look at the date at when this story was published you will see that this was our attempt at an April Fool. However, it looks as those the Scottish fans were too clever to fall for this nonsense!