Scottish Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan is searching far and wide for a performance director but believes it could be next season before he is in place at Hampden.
Regan and SFA president George Peat were at the national stadium on Wednesday to discuss the fall-out from the second part of Henry McLeish`s Review of Scottish Football, which was published last Thursday and which concentrated on issues such as governance, leadership and structures.
The role of a performance director at the SFA, however, was a key recommendation by the former First Minister in part one of his document which was published in April and which concentrated mainly on grassroots football in Scotland.
Regan revealed that the hunt for the person who would be responsible for overseeing a new academy structure with a view to producing a better standard of footballer, was well under way and that every stop would be pulled out in order to get the right man for the post.
"We are currently recruiting a performance director," the former chief executive of Yorkshire County Cricket Club said.
"We are casting our net far and wide and we are not just looking at football.
"We are looking at other sports and are looking at other countries.
"We are determined to keep an open mind to get the best candidate for the job."
Asked if former Scotland boss Walter Smith, who is stepping down from his post as Rangers manager at the end of the season, would be a suitable candidate, Regan straight-batted the question back.
He said: "It is inappropriate to comment on individuals. You would like to think you could recruit as quickly as possible but depending on notice period, it could be months. However, we would like to think someone would be in place for the start of the new season."
Source: PA
