That's it. Sportsound is over for tonight but the search for a new Scotland boss is just beginning.
Who will be in charge when Cyprus come to Hampden in June?
A role for the former captain?
Willie Miller
Former Scotland defender on BBC Radio Scotland
Darren Fletcher as an assistant? I would definitely consider that.
'Pick the best candidate'
John Hughes
Former Hibs & Inverness CT manager on Sportsound
If Steve Clarke gets it, I'm all for it. But the SFA have to do the interview process and pick the best candidate. That way they safeguard themselves and get the right guy.
What next on Euro 2020 road?
Here are the remaining fixtures on Scotland's potential road to Euro 2020.
Can a new man steer us to a top-two place?
Belgium are expected to run away with it, so could we reel in Russia? It would need a near-perfect run at Hampden and maybe something special in Moscow.
BBCCopyright: BBC
Get involved - McLeish reaction
#bbcsportscot
Bernard McPhee: Jurgen Klinsmann should be our number 1 candidate. Responsible for the German football revolution and the US team too. Someone with actual pedigree in the national team. Whether the SFA can think beyond their existing contacts tho is is different question?
Gary McMillan: Not Strachan, failed in 3 qualifying tournaments. Get Gemmill in and let him build his team.
'Sell the vision' to Clarke
Michael Stewart
Former Scotland midfielder on BBC Sportsound
You can’t look
further than Steve Clarke. He has done an unbelievable job with Kilmarnock. I know there’s chat of Fulham being interested, but the national team is
an attractive job and I think if you put a contract in front of him he’d take
it.
You can
play on the emotional side of it and say if you are the man who takes Scotland
the Euros you will be a legend. Leading Fulham back to the Premier League is
not the same as being a legendary Scotland manager. Sell the vision to him. If
he’s successful with Scotland, he’ll get a better job than Fulham.
Financial imperative
Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer
The national manager needs to be the best guy you can get to create the kind of money that can help feed the whole system.
If they qualify for the Euros, they get about £8m. If they make the World Cup, it's around £10m or £12m.
Scotland has been without that money for 21 years.
Players were 'looking after themselves'
Michael Stewart
Former Scotland midfielder on BBC Sportsound
When someone is carrying injury and things are not great, can we blame the players for saying I need to rest? When you create a positivity around the camp, people think I can't afford not be there because something good is happening.
Unfortunately, under Alex McLeish, people were looking after themselves.
Get involved - McLeish reaction
#bbcsportscot
Mark Tallon: If Steve Clarke doesn't want it look at Bilic or Klinsmann which would really get team and fans buzzing and be a total change from the usual suspects.
Robert Smith: Mickey Mouse, oh I forgot he’s in charge of the SFA at the moment
SFA need a shortlist after O'Neill error
Willie Miller
Former Scotland defender on BBC Radio Scotland
You could go back to
the Michael O'Neill situation and how (former SFA chief executive) Stewart Regan went out on a limb by
making him the preferred candidate. You're actually inviting someone to take
advantage of that and that's what O'Neill did. You don’t always get it right in
appointing a manager but the SFA need to have a shortlist.
If you only target one
guy and someone comes in with a better offer, you are left rudderless.
Scotland have 'regressed massively'
Michael Stewart
Former Scotland midfielder on BBC Sportsound
You have to recognise that Israel and Albania are poor sides. To blindly say Alex McLeish deserves to stay on for getting us to the Nations League play-offs is ignoring all the evidence.
There's nothing from Alex McLeish's second tenure to suggest progress. We have regressed massively.
SNSCopyright: SNS
James Forrest scored a hat-trick as Scotland beat Israel in November to top their League C Nations League groupImage caption: James Forrest scored a hat-trick as Scotland beat Israel in November to top their League C Nations League group
If not Clarke, then who?
Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer
I'm not sure Steve Clarke wants Scotland, but Scotland want him. If he's not the guy - he was been linked with Fulham - there aren't too many other options.
A foreign manager who doesn't know the Scottish game? A gamble. A young manager? A gamble.
SNSCopyright: SNS
Clarke 'would rather' go to England, says Boyd
Kilmarnock boss Steve Clarke is favourite with many bookmakers to replace Alex McLeish. But Kris Boyd says a return to English football
would appeal more to his Rugby Park manager.
“I’ve not had the conversation with our manager, but he’s very
much a day-to-day coach,” Boyd told BBC Radio Five Live.
"Whether international
management, meeting up once a month, is for him I don’t know. I very much
believe the gaffer would rather go back down the road than take the Scotland
job.”
Changed days in international management
Kilmarnock striker Kris Boyd, who has 18 Scotland caps,
believes player withdrawals robbed Alex McLeish of the momentum from a successful Nations League campaign.
And Boyd says the Scotland manager role is becoming increasingly
restricted.
He told BBC Radio Five Live: “Against Kazakhstan, Alex had
to make six changes from the game before. San Marino was another six changes,
so you can’t build anything when players are pulling out, players are injured.
“Unfortunately, in terms of the world of football now, with all
the sports science and medical teams, it’s not like before where international
managers could put an arm round a player’s shoulder and talk them into playing
that game. These decisions are made before the squad even meets up now.
“In international football now, is it just a case of you name
the squad, train them for a few days, take the game and don’t have much else to
do with it.”
SNSCopyright: SNS
Sacking McLeish is wrong decision
John Hughes
Former Hibs & Inverness CT manager on Sportsound
I don't think the SFA have made the right decision. Alex should have been given the campaign. He's used 46 players, but put yourself in his shoes, who would you have in the squad who isn't there just now? He's probably right on the mark. Kazakhstan are no mugs.
'The appointment was not popular'
Michael Stewart
Former Scotland midfielder on BBC Sportsound
There's no credit to be had from this debacle.
It's the correct decision but it only rectifies a situation that should never have arisen in the first place.
The reality is that the appointment of Alex McLeish was not popular. You've got to look at what happened historically. This was a manager that left Scotland to take over at Birmingham City the day after the World Cup draw.
He was not a manager with lots of options. He was out of work. He wasn't a perfect fit.
We've always been on the back foot under Alex McLeish. Players have pulled out left, right and centre. The captain, Andy Robertson, said it was 'rock bottom' after the San Marino game.
'I'm disappointed for Alex' - Miller
Willie Miller
Former Scotland defender on BBC Radio Scotland
I don't think anybody is surprised he's gone, given leaks have been coming out of the Scottish FA for almost a month. I'm disappointed for Alex, he hasn't even been given one campaign.
Managers in the past have been given two campaigns when at times I've seen very little evidence of progress.
Scotland job an 'ambition' for many managers - McInnes
Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes is likely to be in the frame
to replace Alex McLeish but today refused to speculate, although he admits the
job will be an "ambition" for most managers.
McInnes said: “I’m not getting drawn into that, the big
fella has just lost his job today, and I’ve stated often enough about where I
see myself, being here. I enjoy being here.
“It depends where you are in your career, but managing
your country would have to be up there with the majority of managers as an ambition
at some point.
“Whoever goes in will be aware of the scrutiny and the
pressures of the job. It's risk and reward - the reward of qualifying for a tournament would be fantastic
for a manager out there."
SNSCopyright: SNS
Two strategies for SFA?
Chris McLaughlin
BBC Scotland Sports News Correspondent on Sportsound
My understanding is the SFA are mulling over two strategies.
They could look for an interim boss, someone to stand in for the next couple of Euro 2020 qualifiers - the likes of a Scot Gemmill or Malky Mackay, just to steady the ship and potentially give them the job if they succeed.
The other option is to go in search of a preferred candidate, although I don't think we'll hear that phrase again from the SFA, given what happened with Michael O'Neill last time.
It's also my understanding that they will sound out a number of potential candidates over the next week, to look at availability and so on.
Get involved
#bbcsportscot
Some more thoughts from the world of Twitter...
Hairy Coo: Break the bank for Slaven Bilic.
Craig Campbell: Let’s do something totally radical and ask Shelley Kerr if she’s interested, maybe with an experienced coach alongside her. Otherwise the SFA are going to appoint someone like Alan Pardew or Mark Hughes.
Live Reporting
Colin Moffat
All times stated are UK
BBCCopyright: BBC 
SNSCopyright: SNS James Forrest scored a hat-trick as Scotland beat Israel in November to top their League C Nations League groupImage caption: James Forrest scored a hat-trick as Scotland beat Israel in November to top their League C Nations League group 
SNSCopyright: SNS 
SNSCopyright: SNS 
SNSCopyright: SNS 
Latest PostPost update
That's it. Sportsound is over for tonight but the search for a new Scotland boss is just beginning.
Who will be in charge when Cyprus come to Hampden in June?
A role for the former captain?
Willie Miller
Former Scotland defender on BBC Radio Scotland
Darren Fletcher as an assistant? I would definitely consider that.
'Pick the best candidate'
John Hughes
Former Hibs & Inverness CT manager on Sportsound
If Steve Clarke gets it, I'm all for it. But the SFA have to do the interview process and pick the best candidate. That way they safeguard themselves and get the right guy.
What next on Euro 2020 road?
Here are the remaining fixtures on Scotland's potential road to Euro 2020.
Can a new man steer us to a top-two place?
Belgium are expected to run away with it, so could we reel in Russia? It would need a near-perfect run at Hampden and maybe something special in Moscow.
Get involved - McLeish reaction
#bbcsportscot
Bernard McPhee: Jurgen Klinsmann should be our number 1 candidate. Responsible for the German football revolution and the US team too. Someone with actual pedigree in the national team. Whether the SFA can think beyond their existing contacts tho is is different question?
Gary McMillan: Not Strachan, failed in 3 qualifying tournaments. Get Gemmill in and let him build his team.
'Sell the vision' to Clarke
Michael Stewart
Former Scotland midfielder on BBC Sportsound
You can’t look further than Steve Clarke. He has done an unbelievable job with Kilmarnock. I know there’s chat of Fulham being interested, but the national team is an attractive job and I think if you put a contract in front of him he’d take it.
You can play on the emotional side of it and say if you are the man who takes Scotland the Euros you will be a legend. Leading Fulham back to the Premier League is not the same as being a legendary Scotland manager. Sell the vision to him. If he’s successful with Scotland, he’ll get a better job than Fulham.
Financial imperative
Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer
The national manager needs to be the best guy you can get to create the kind of money that can help feed the whole system.
If they qualify for the Euros, they get about £8m. If they make the World Cup, it's around £10m or £12m.
Scotland has been without that money for 21 years.
Players were 'looking after themselves'
Michael Stewart
Former Scotland midfielder on BBC Sportsound
When someone is carrying injury and things are not great, can we blame the players for saying I need to rest? When you create a positivity around the camp, people think I can't afford not be there because something good is happening.
Unfortunately, under Alex McLeish, people were looking after themselves.
Get involved - McLeish reaction
#bbcsportscot
Mark Tallon: If Steve Clarke doesn't want it look at Bilic or Klinsmann which would really get team and fans buzzing and be a total change from the usual suspects.
Robert Smith: Mickey Mouse, oh I forgot he’s in charge of the SFA at the moment
SFA need a shortlist after O'Neill error
Willie Miller
Former Scotland defender on BBC Radio Scotland
You could go back to the Michael O'Neill situation and how (former SFA chief executive) Stewart Regan went out on a limb by making him the preferred candidate. You're actually inviting someone to take advantage of that and that's what O'Neill did. You don’t always get it right in appointing a manager but the SFA need to have a shortlist.
If you only target one guy and someone comes in with a better offer, you are left rudderless.
Scotland have 'regressed massively'
Michael Stewart
Former Scotland midfielder on BBC Sportsound
You have to recognise that Israel and Albania are poor sides. To blindly say Alex McLeish deserves to stay on for getting us to the Nations League play-offs is ignoring all the evidence.
There's nothing from Alex McLeish's second tenure to suggest progress. We have regressed massively.
If not Clarke, then who?
Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer
I'm not sure Steve Clarke wants Scotland, but Scotland want him. If he's not the guy - he was been linked with Fulham - there aren't too many other options.
A foreign manager who doesn't know the Scottish game? A gamble. A young manager? A gamble.
Clarke 'would rather' go to England, says Boyd
Kilmarnock boss Steve Clarke is favourite with many bookmakers to replace Alex McLeish. But Kris Boyd says a return to English football would appeal more to his Rugby Park manager.
“I’ve not had the conversation with our manager, but he’s very much a day-to-day coach,” Boyd told BBC Radio Five Live.
"Whether international management, meeting up once a month, is for him I don’t know. I very much believe the gaffer would rather go back down the road than take the Scotland job.”
Changed days in international management
Kilmarnock striker Kris Boyd, who has 18 Scotland caps, believes player withdrawals robbed Alex McLeish of the momentum from a successful Nations League campaign.
And Boyd says the Scotland manager role is becoming increasingly restricted.
He told BBC Radio Five Live: “Against Kazakhstan, Alex had to make six changes from the game before. San Marino was another six changes, so you can’t build anything when players are pulling out, players are injured.
“Unfortunately, in terms of the world of football now, with all the sports science and medical teams, it’s not like before where international managers could put an arm round a player’s shoulder and talk them into playing that game. These decisions are made before the squad even meets up now.
“In international football now, is it just a case of you name the squad, train them for a few days, take the game and don’t have much else to do with it.”
Sacking McLeish is wrong decision
John Hughes
Former Hibs & Inverness CT manager on Sportsound
I don't think the SFA have made the right decision. Alex should have been given the campaign. He's used 46 players, but put yourself in his shoes, who would you have in the squad who isn't there just now? He's probably right on the mark. Kazakhstan are no mugs.
'The appointment was not popular'
Michael Stewart
Former Scotland midfielder on BBC Sportsound
There's no credit to be had from this debacle.
It's the correct decision but it only rectifies a situation that should never have arisen in the first place.
The reality is that the appointment of Alex McLeish was not popular. You've got to look at what happened historically. This was a manager that left Scotland to take over at Birmingham City the day after the World Cup draw.
He was not a manager with lots of options. He was out of work. He wasn't a perfect fit.
We've always been on the back foot under Alex McLeish. Players have pulled out left, right and centre. The captain, Andy Robertson, said it was 'rock bottom' after the San Marino game.
'I'm disappointed for Alex' - Miller
Willie Miller
Former Scotland defender on BBC Radio Scotland
I don't think anybody is surprised he's gone, given leaks have been coming out of the Scottish FA for almost a month. I'm disappointed for Alex, he hasn't even been given one campaign.
Managers in the past have been given two campaigns when at times I've seen very little evidence of progress.
Scotland job an 'ambition' for many managers - McInnes
Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes is likely to be in the frame to replace Alex McLeish but today refused to speculate, although he admits the job will be an "ambition" for most managers.
McInnes said: “I’m not getting drawn into that, the big fella has just lost his job today, and I’ve stated often enough about where I see myself, being here. I enjoy being here.
“It depends where you are in your career, but managing your country would have to be up there with the majority of managers as an ambition at some point.
“Whoever goes in will be aware of the scrutiny and the pressures of the job. It's risk and reward - the reward of qualifying for a tournament would be fantastic for a manager out there."
Two strategies for SFA?
Chris McLaughlin
BBC Scotland Sports News Correspondent on Sportsound
My understanding is the SFA are mulling over two strategies.
They could look for an interim boss, someone to stand in for the next couple of Euro 2020 qualifiers - the likes of a Scot Gemmill or Malky Mackay, just to steady the ship and potentially give them the job if they succeed.
The other option is to go in search of a preferred candidate, although I don't think we'll hear that phrase again from the SFA, given what happened with Michael O'Neill last time.
It's also my understanding that they will sound out a number of potential candidates over the next week, to look at availability and so on.
Get involved
#bbcsportscot
Some more thoughts from the world of Twitter...
Hairy Coo: Break the bank for Slaven Bilic.
Craig Campbell: Let’s do something totally radical and ask Shelley Kerr if she’s interested, maybe with an experienced coach alongside her. Otherwise the SFA are going to appoint someone like Alan Pardew or Mark Hughes.