ALEX MCLEISH is open to the prospect of returning as Scotland manager and succeeding Gordon Strachan at Hampden.

The 58-year-old was appointed as Walter Smith’s successor a decade ago but narrowly missed out on a place at the 2008 European Championship finals.

The SFA have started their search for Strachan’s replacement after he left his post last week in the wake of another failed qualification campaign.

McLeish said: “It would be nice to get a call to see what their thoughts are. There are a lot of good candidates out there.

“It was a short spell [I had in charge] but it was a really exciting time. It would be great to think the next manager could get Scotland to a major finals. It is going to happen someday.

“When I took the job last time around, was I ready for international football? I used to think it was older coaches who go down that route but at that time it was trendy for young coaches. There was Marco van Basten, Jurgen Klinsmann and there were three or four others worldwide.

“Of course, the thing is, when they actually call you it’s hard to say no. I was going to think about it but then thought, no, I will take it.”

After failing to qualify for the finals in Austria and Switzerland, McLeish stepped down to return to club management with Birmingham City. He has since had spells in charge of Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Genk and Zamalek and is keen to get back in the dugout once again.

And the former Rangers boss admits he would love the chance to have another crack at ending a two-decade wait for a finals appearance.

He said: “The age I am at I still feel I have a lot of mileage in me. I have done a lot of fire-fighting in England and got a lot of books balanced and also kept teams competitive.

“The international challenge is different in that you are not wheeling and dealing and you are trying to get a bunch of guys to play to outstanding levels.

“It would be anybody’s dream to be the manager to take Scotland back to a major finals. Someday soon somebody is going to do that.”

That Euro 2008 campaign is as close as Scotland have come to qualifying for some time but a 2-0 defeat to Georgia left McLeish’s side needing a result against Italy and ultimately cost them dear in Group B.

“In this game you never stop learning, even if you’re Sir Alex Ferguson – even he still made mistakes.

“Yes [I’m better equipped now], that’s the irony of being out of the game. You have much more common sense as before you went in head first.”