McAllister wants club role

McAllister, who won 57 caps for his country, had been offered the part-time position vacated by Steven Pressley last week. But the former Leeds and Liverpool midfielder admits he is holding out for a job at club level, amid reports he is set to be offered a full-time position in England.

"Firstly, it goes without saying that I was flattered to be asked by George during what was an informal chat last week," McAllister told The Herald. "But to be honest, at this stage of my coaching career, I think it is more important to hold out for a full-time job at club level."

He added: "I don't really want to elaborate on that because of the sensitive nature of the situation but I have a great deal of respect for George Burley and when he asked me to have a chat about it, I was keen to hear what he had to say about the role.

"As a former Scotland captain, I would have been immensely proud and honoured to have worked with the international set-up again and try to get the country into a major championship final again.

"I have a couple of irons in the fire down here and the major attraction is that they are full-time posts so I had to bear that in mind. I wish George all the best for the future."

Scottish Football Association chief executive Gordon Smith told the Daily Mail: "It's no insult to us that Gary has made this decision.

"I think he would have been a good coach, a good addition, but it's his decision.

"It was always the case that Gary had to work something out for himself.

"I'm comfortable with the fact that he has done what he feels is best for him. I knew George had been talking to more than one person about this position, but Gary was the only name he mentioned to me. I do know he was speaking to other people."