Scottish Football Association chief executive Gordon Smith came out fighting today and insisted he would battle to keep national team boss Alex McLeish.
McLeish continues to be linked with a move to the Barclays Premier League, where there remains a vacancy at Birmingham.
The 48-year-old has been linked with the St Andrews post but Smith will resist interest in McLeish from clubs as far as he is able.
Former Rangers boss McLeish would be able to strike it rich if he took a job in England, but Smith hopes the man who took Scotland so close to qualifying for Euro 2008 will stay on for the 2010 World Cup campaign.
As he flew to Durban today for the World Cup draw, with McLeish, Smith left no doubt about his position regarding clubs hoping to swoop for the Scotland boss.
He said: "Absolutely we'll be turning them down. We will not be letting Alex go anywhere.
"When it comes right down to it you have a scenario where the manager says, 'I'm going, there's nothing you can do about it,' and then you have to get into negotiations with the club.
"But we don't want that to happen.
"We are turning it down, we're saying we don't want Alex McLeish to go anywhere."
McLeish's contract runs until the 2010 World Cup, and if the SFA do lose their man they would stand to receive substantial compensation.
Smith insists no clubs have approached the SFA.
"I hope it stays that way," he said. "They are unwelcome requests so we will be turning down any requests we get for Alex."
Smith nevertheless knows McLeish must make the final call on where his future lies.
He said: "It's his decision.
"We're just hoping that he wants to stay in the job, we're hoping that he'll continue in his position and he'll take us into the next campaign, the World Cup, and even beyond that if it's possible.
"That's down to discussions.
"But at the moment we're just seeing it in the short term as even a two-and-a-half-year situation with Alex.
"We're hoping that Alex will stay all the way to the World Cup finals in 2010."
The 48-year-old has been linked with the St Andrews post but Smith will resist interest in McLeish from clubs as far as he is able.
Former Rangers boss McLeish would be able to strike it rich if he took a job in England, but Smith hopes the man who took Scotland so close to qualifying for Euro 2008 will stay on for the 2010 World Cup campaign.
As he flew to Durban today for the World Cup draw, with McLeish, Smith left no doubt about his position regarding clubs hoping to swoop for the Scotland boss.
He said: "Absolutely we'll be turning them down. We will not be letting Alex go anywhere.
"When it comes right down to it you have a scenario where the manager says, 'I'm going, there's nothing you can do about it,' and then you have to get into negotiations with the club.
"But we don't want that to happen.
"We are turning it down, we're saying we don't want Alex McLeish to go anywhere."
McLeish's contract runs until the 2010 World Cup, and if the SFA do lose their man they would stand to receive substantial compensation.
Smith insists no clubs have approached the SFA.
"I hope it stays that way," he said. "They are unwelcome requests so we will be turning down any requests we get for Alex."
Smith nevertheless knows McLeish must make the final call on where his future lies.
He said: "It's his decision.
"We're just hoping that he wants to stay in the job, we're hoping that he'll continue in his position and he'll take us into the next campaign, the World Cup, and even beyond that if it's possible.
"That's down to discussions.
"But at the moment we're just seeing it in the short term as even a two-and-a-half-year situation with Alex.
"We're hoping that Alex will stay all the way to the World Cup finals in 2010."
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