Collins was already among the favourites for the national post and appears to be the man the SFA have chosen to lead Scotland into the World Cup qualifying campaign.

The 39 year old had been in charge of Hibs for little over a year but during that time he led his team to success in the CIS Insurance Cup in March with a 5-1 victory over Kilmarnock.

However his stint in charge was not without controversy as he fought to quell a dressing room revolt ahead of the Scottish Cup semi-final last season, as players complained about his training methods and man management style.

Only on Wednesday Collins was present alongside chairman Rod Petrie at the launch of the Edinburgh club's new £4.9m training centre.