In an outspoken attack, the senior figure, who would speak to The Sunday Times only on condition of anonymity, attacked Vogts’s decision making, and suggested that the payoff the German would receive was well worth it to protect the interests of the national side. He also accused David Taylor, the SFA’s chief executive, and John McBeth, the president, of having their “heads in the clouds” when “pushing” for the German’s appointment two years ago.
“Personally, I would like to see a new manager and I would want somebody who knows the routines up and down the country,” he said. “I think it is very difficult for a foreign manager to come in and do well, it is alien to these guys. At the time (of Vogts’s appointment), foreign managers were flavour of the month with the FA appointing Sven-Göran Eriksson, and the SFA were put under pressure by supporters and the media
to do the same. I don’t think we took enough care to do the proper thing for Scottish football and there’s a lot of regrets about that now. I
don’t think we realised until now, perhaps, what a tremendous job Craig Brown did.
“I won’t go for Gordon Strachan as I don’t think he has enough experience for that job yet, but he could be part of the set-up. My choice would be Walter Smith. To me, he is the obvious candidate and I would put him forward without any hesitation.”
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Smith and Strachan are both on record as saying they would be keen to take the job if it was offered. The former is currently out of football after assisting Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United last season.
The SFA board member admitted he had misgivings from the outset about a foreign manager, fears that have been borne out by Vogts’s poor record of eight wins from 27 matches. “David Taylor and the president pushed for a foreign manager, they were quite determined about that, but I think their heads were in the clouds. They thought that if they went foreign then everyone would support them, but Berti has brought in very ordinary players, lads playing in England’s lower leagues, and that, to me, has devalued Scotland caps. That really went against the grain.
“It will be a very, very important meeting that day (September 9). We now have the added pressure of government input, they have put money into youth development, so it is very, very important for the future that we get the right person.”
The government recently invested £12.2m in the SFA’s action plan for youth football.
Vogts would be due an estimated £1m if his contract was terminated almost two years before its completion, but the board member said that issue could not cloud their thinking. “The payoff is relevant to our decision but not insurmountable,” he added. “If a decision has to be made, it has got to be made.”
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The pressure has increased on Vogts in the wake of the recent friendly defeat to Hungary in front of only 15,000 at Hampden, where the coach’s tactical adjustments led to a second-half collapse and a 3-0 defeat. The forthcoming games, a testing friendly in Spain next Friday then the qualifier against Slovenia, may not provide enough evidence to continue Vogts’s reign.