The SFA were last night closing in on George Burley as the new Scotland manager, after Gordon Smith, the SFA chief executive, reached agreement with Southampton over compensation for Burley’s release.

Smith will parade Burley in his new job before the media at 3pm today - with news that Scotland are close to tying up a fixture against England at Wembley in May – but may have to wait a further 24 hours as details of Burley’s contract conditions and salary are finally concluded.

Smith and George Peat, the SFA president, spent much of yesterday negotiating with Athole Still, Burley’s agent, as the two parties attempted to reach agreement. It is believed the SFA want Burley to commit to a fixed two-year term as a minimum, rather than work to a rolling one-year contract, which has been Burley’s preference in club football. Peat confirmed last night that he and Smith would sit down again this morning with Burley’s agent to try to finalise the package. “We are hoping and maybe even presuming that everything will be OK, but you never know in these situations,” the SFA president said. “We think we’ve got the right man.”

Still confirmed negotiations are progressing. “There’s still one or two things to be ironed out in his contract but nothing that I see as being a deal-breaker. He’s excited at the opportunity to take over his national team and I hope that the final t’s can be crossed and i’s can be dotted pretty smartly in the next 24 hours.”

If a deal is concluded by lunchtime, Burley may fly north in time to be presented at a press conference later today.

Compensation between the SFA and Southampton was relatively straightforward. From the outset, given the SFA’s limited resources, Smith had ascertained how much compensation would be required for all four of the candidates he had initially pursued. It is believed the SFA are paying Southampton somewhere in the region of £300,000 for Burley’s services.

The surprising and, in some quarters, controversial move for Burley was yesterday ratified by the SFA’s ten-man board. This followed Smith and Peat agreeing upon Burley as their preferred candidate, with the consent of two other SFA board members, Campbell Ogilvie and Alan McCrae.

“Personally, I would have been comfortable with all four of the candidates,” Smith said. “They all had the assets we were looking for and that was a big factor. George came out on top because of certain aspects. I’m sure that the Tartan Army will be behind him and see that we get off to a good start and continue the success we have had.”

With the SFA machinery having been negotiated – a private dread of Smith’s – it just left Southampton and Burley’s own contract to be sorted.

Southampton yesterday were resigned to losing Burley, though the club’s support appeared to be divided over the issue. Burley took the club to the Coca-Cola Championship play-offs last season, but they have struggled this term and currently languish in thirteenth position. Burley has been at the club for just over two years.

Leon Crouch, the Southampton chairman, said last night: “George has done a terrific job here and we are all very sad to see him go. We would not have allowed him to talk to anyone other than Scotland, and I don’t think he would have left us for anyone else.

“I know he was very happy here and we were glad to have him. He’s an experienced manager and one who commands respect. But it is a huge honour for anyone to take charge of their national side and we could not stand in his way.”

Lee Hoos, the acting Southampton chief executive with whom Smith negotiated a compensation package, added: “We suspected this might happen because George is so well qualified to do the job. We think he’ll do well with Scotland.”

As Scottish football slowly grasped the reality of Burley’s surprising appointment, various figures associated with the Scottish game last night applauded Smith for his choice of new manager.

“I think George Burley is an excellent choice,” Craig Brown, the former Scotland manager, said. “He has a good knowledge of football, is a patriotic guy, and players seem to enjoy playing for him. I think he’ll do well in the job.”

Craig Gordon, the Sunderland goal-keeper who played under Burley at Heart of Midlothian, and will now resume that relationship with Scotland, said: “He was very good with us at Hearts. The training was excellent and people saw for themselves the effect George had on the team.”

Terry Butcher, the former Motherwell manager, and once a teammate of Burley at Ipswich, said: “George is a good manager who has done well wherever he has gone. He’ll instil his own style on the way Scotland play.”