February 16 – Scotland finally have a manager to succeed Gordon Strachan – very much a sense of déjà vu. Alex McLeish has agreed to take over for the second time – 11 years after leaving the post.
McLeish, 59, will sign a deal until 2020, filling the gap that has been left since Strachan departed in October after the country failed to qualify for the World Cup.
McLeish was certainly not first choice, the Scottish FA having failed in its attempt to recruit Michael O’Neill, who instead chose to stay with Northern Ireland.
The former Rangers, Birmingham and Aston Villa manager opens his second spell with games against Costa Rica and Hungary next month, followed by further friendly matches in Peru in May and Mexico in June.
His debut competitive games will be the UEFA Nations League encounters against Albania at home on 10 September, then in Israel on October 11.
Scotland have not reached a major finals since the 1998 World Cup in France. The Scottish FA is also looking for a new chief executive to replace Stewart Regan.
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