Malky Mackay has been ruled out of the running to be the next Scotland manager on a permanent basis by SFA chief executive Stewart Regan.

The performance director is in interim charge of the national side after Gordon Strachan left the post and will manage Scotland on Thursday in a friendly against the Netherlands.

He had been ranked among the front-runners for the job full-time but Regan said the former Wigan and Cardiff boss will return to his previous role.

When asked if Mackay was under consideration for the job, Regan told talkSPORT radio: "No, Malky and I have discussed this. He's got a big job on his hands, he's said that himself.

"He's been asked by the board to take charge for one game and that's what he's doing. He's very proud to lead his country."

He added: "We have got a very long list of candidates, as you can imagine for an opportunity like this.

"We don't have a competitive game until next September and therefore this is not something we need to rush into.

"We are going to take our time, we're going to consider the candidates and we're going to try to identify the person we believe can lead us to Euro 2020."