Gordon Smith has his say on the SFA’s appointment of Malky Mackay

QUESTION. What is a camel?

Answer. A horse designed by committee.

It is an old line and one I mention here because of the SFA’s appointment of Malky Mackay as their new performance director.

Their decision is a contentious one.

Some have responded by arguing Malky’s history – the offensive private messages leaked to the Press when he was Cardiff City manager three years ago – should bar him from the post.

My own big worry is less concerned with public perception. It’s more about the future of Scottish football.

I say that because I believe we have to both trust and support the SFA in this appointment.

They will have done their due diligence on Malky before giving him the job.

As a former chief executive of the Association, I can guarantee that.

So we know they are convinced that whatever Malky has done in the past, he is now a fit-and-proper person to be their performance director.

People make mistakes. It doesn’t matter what walk of life you come from, that is a fact.

They have to take responsibility for those mistakes.

But it should not, in my opinion, mean they are barred from future employment.

Malky has gone through an equality and diversity training programme with the FA, and it is significant his appointment by the SFA has been backed by Show Racism the Red Card, who said they wished him well in the post.

I fear he may need more than good wishes in his new role.

Reform is needed and putting it into place will be easier said than done.

Again I speak from personal experience. Trying to get things done under the SFA’s committee system can be hugely frustrating.

You can be utterly convinced that what you want to do is in the best interests of the Scottish game. But that doesn’t mean you will be able to sell it to those who also get a vote.

A lot of the time you are dealing with people who are coming at the problem from an entirely different standpoint from your own.

Someone who has only ever been involved at the top level of the game isn’t likely to have the same outlook, for example, as a businessman who became director of his local part-time club.

I don’t blame people for putting the interests of their own clubs first. They will, in fairness, be under pressure to do exactly that.

What is the problem is that most of the people who need to try to progress our game along the right lines do not have the ability to do so.

Personally, I think Malky is a good man for the job.

He is intelligent, experienced at a very high level and a great communicator.

In fact, had he not had his troubles in Wales, I don’t think there is any way we could have attracted him for this job as, by now, he would have been in charge of a big English club.

This, remember, is a guy who, not that many years ago, was deemed out of reach, not to be the SFA’s performance director but for the post of national manager!

However, without the willingness of all concerned to look at the bigger picture, I just don’t know how much difference he will be able to make.

And that, to continue the camel analogy, would give not just Malky the hump, but also a nation of football fans tired of waiting for the men in charge of the game to get it right.