JOHN Hughes believes he has earned the right to be interviewed for the vacant Scotland manager’s job due to his achievements in the game.
The former Hibernian, Falkirk and Inverness Caledonian Thistle boss told the BBC that he deserves to be considered for the role, as the Scottish FA continue their hunt for Gordon Strachan’s successor.
Michael O’Neill rejected the chance to take over in the Hampden post last month before Walter Smith pulled out of the running.
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And Hughes believes his achievements at club level on a limited budget make him a contender to be the next national team manager.
"The CV speaks for itself," he said.
"All I'm asking is for a chance to interview.
"I've done two First Division promotions, manager of the year twice, three cup finals, one Scottish Cup, three teams into Europe, two for the first time in their history with Inverness and Falkirk, and I've done it all never working with a cheque book.
"I think I've spent £240,000 and I've got 15 years of experience getting the best out of what I'm working with and getting the gold dust out of them."
Hughes has been out of the game since leaving Raith Rovers in the wake of their relegation to League One at the end of last season.
The 53-year-old came in for criticism from some quarters for ranting against his own players in the wake of a 5-0 defeat to St Mirren in April, but he insists the reaction was justified.
"The thing at Raith Rovers, that was passion," he said. "That was a call to arms. That was a rallying cry.
"After that interview, we played Ayr United and we got our goalkeeper sent off in the first two minutes and, do you know, we beat them 1-0, so something came out of it.
"You tell me a manager who does not have a blot on his copybook."
Hughes believes that his achievements may have gone unnoticed and he took time to explain why his managerial career to date has set him on the path to becoming a successful Scotland boss.
"In terms of self publicising yourself, it's a dangerous game, but I need to do it because I've got a passion to go and manage my country," he said.
"I do believe a lot of people don't know my achievements.
"[I won] two First Division titles, one of them with Owen Coyle and eventually getting into the SPL and [kept] Falkirk in the SPL for five seasons.
"[I took] them to a Scottish Cup final and into Europe for the first time in their history and [built] an academy that was so successful in terms of players moving on and working with young players and getting the best out of players.
"After that, I moved on to Hibs. It was a dream of mine to go and manage the team I supported as boy and took them to fourth and into Europe.
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"I went up to Inverness, took them to the League Cup final - got beat from Aberdeen on penalties - took them to a Scottish Cup final, won it and another team I took into Europe, third in the league.
"I left Falkirk and they've never been in the SPL since and then I left Inverness and they got relegated.
"If you look at Scotland, I don't know where we are in the European standings, but we're not the best team in Europe, we're not the best team in the world, and it needs a manager who is going to go in there and create a real club environment, wear your heart on your sleeve, all for one and one for all, let's get united.
"That's my forte and I've been training for this job for the last 15 years, why not John Hughes?"
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