What has happened to Scottish managers?

Paul Lambert's stock has fallen

Paul Lambert's sacking from Aston Villa did not come as a major shock given the run of form his side have endured this term.

The departure of the Scot does however mean that for the first time there are no Scottish managers working in the Premier League.

Sir Alex Ferguson was of course the great standard-bearer and constant but the stats show that five of the all-time top ten most successful managers in English club football have been Scottish.

What has happened to the production line coming south and what hopes for the future of a great footballing institution?

Just four years ago there were no fewer than six Scots managing at the top level in English football but now for the first time since 1984, Scotland has no representative.

Dropping down a tier, there are just three Scots in charge at the 24 Championship clubs - Steve Evans at struggling Rotherham, Malky Mackay rebuilding his reputation at Wigan while Alex Neil is a young manager with a growing reputation and recently arrived at Norwich for his first managerial post in England.

Scotland has long been renowned for producing astute tactical managers, bringing organisation, passion and determination to their work. Ferguson, George Graham, Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and David Moyes earned the rights to some of the biggest jobs in England.

In recent times the likes of Alex McLeish, Owen Coyle, and Steve Kean have dropped off the radar - emphasising how tough it could now be for Lambert to get back to the top level.

Gordon Strachan has taken himself out of the rat-race of club management in favour of a stint in charge of the Scottish national team.

There can be no disputing that English clubs are now looking much further afield when recruiting for the most important role at a club.

The likes of Ronald Koeman and Mauricio Pochettino have arrived on these shores with burgeoning reputations.

Eight of the 18 managers employed full-time by Premier League clubs today come from outside of the British Isles - Newcastle and now Villa currently find themselves in a state of flux.

The success of managers like Jose Mourinho means clubs are craving 'the next big thing', a perhaps unknown quantity that is going to produce a swashbuckling and successful brand of football.

Scotland, it appears, is being left behind in the rush.

The current state of top-flight football north of the border may be a contributing factor.

Scottish football was in a great place when Ferguson and Dalglish were in their pomp, with the likes of Aberdeen and Dundee United enjoying European success.

That meant there was demand for Scottish managers from within the English game.

Now, with Rangers' well documented troubles, Celtic are left to plunder the rewards of the Scottish Premier League more or less unchallenged.

Whereas even in early 2000's both sides of Glasgow's divide were able to contest European finals, now the domestic scene has regressed to a point where it is devoid of big names and big games.

The knock-on effect of that is seen in the downward spiral that has befallen Scottish managers.

That is not to say that all hope is lost.

Neil, currently the highest ranked Scottish manager in English football as he looks to steer Norwich into the Championship playoffs, is proof that relative success in Scotland will get noticed by English clubs.

At just 33, Neil has been handed a chance at a club with serious designs on getting back into the top flight. Neil led Hamilton into Scotland's top flight at the first attempt last season and briefly had them top of the table back in October.

His work was observed and the move to Norwich is a logical progression.

Jackie McNamara and Derek McInnes are further of examples of the next generation of Scottish managers as they attempt to put an unlikely halt to Celtic's domestic bliss.

McInnes' Aberdeen are pushing the SPFL champions all the way this season and the work of the 43-year-old former Bristol City manager will not be going unnoticed in England.

Lambert's departure marks a low point for a country with a proud tradition in football management but with some young and ambitious managers already on the scene, Scotland will rise again.

Finding another Fergie however may take a little while.