GORDON Strachan is hoping he won't be offered the Scotland national team job just yet.

The former Saints supremo last month indicated he would jump at the chance to manage his country and speculation raged that he had already been sounded out by the Scottish FA.

That inevitably put further pressure on current incumbent Berti Vogts after a string of embarrassing results, culminating with a home defeat by Hungary last month

But a creditable performance against Spain last Friday earned him some reprieve and Strachan has now put the record straight.

The 47-year-old had already explained his comments to SFA chief executive David Taylor and tried to contact Vogts himself before last Friday's game in Valencia.

Strachan, below, said: "I was asked if I would like to manage Scotland, and I gave an honest answer to a question I was not expecting.

"Of course, I would like to be asked to take the job - but only if that invitation came in three or four years.

"If it came just now, it would be because we'd have had a bad start to our World Cup qualifying campaign and, like every other Scot, I don't want to see that happen.

"It is a very difficult time for the national team but we need to get behind them and hope they can get off to a good start, as we don't want to miss out on any more finals.

"I still believe my decision to take a break from the game was the correct one."

But Strachan won't be able to keep himself out of the headlines every time a managerial vacancy crops up - he is now said to be one of the front-runners for the Blackburn job.

Ex-Saints and Blackburn striker Mark Hughes is being linked along with ex-Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier.