Scotland manager Craig Levein has thrown his backing behind plans for the Scottish Football Association to recruit a performance director.
The appointment of someone to oversee talent development was one of the key recommendations in the first part of Henry McLeish's Scottish Football Review.
Levein will have an input into who that person will be and believes the role is long overdue, saying: "What is happening at this minute in time is that the criteria for the job and exactly what the job will entail is being set. I'm happy to have an influence on that."
He added: "I do feel, especially at the elite levels, it's a bit haphazard at the moment. There is no driving force behind it. It's generally left to the first team coach to try to set the agenda. I don't think that's right.
"Most people are interested in how the national team gets on and there has to be more direction.
"There isn't enough just now and it comes down, at times, to myself. I don't think it should be as haphazard as that, that it relies on the incumbent manager to set the tone for everything.
"There should be somebody who looks after that elite strand and takes care of what we are trying to do as a nation.
"We are trying to get some sense of pride and depth of feeling back into the national team. This person will partly be responsible for that.
"It's a process which is ongoing. It's something we haven't had in the past and it shows a level of professionalism that maybe we haven't had in the past."
Source: PA
