FORMER SPFL chairman Ralph Topping was always certain that Ian Maxwell was destined for the top, and he says he expects great things from him after the 42-year-old was appointed chief executive of the SFA.

The Partick Thistle chief executive was confirmed as the man to succeed Stewart Regan on Monday, and Topping is over the moon for a man who he was consistently impressed by when they worked together on the board of the league body.

And he thinks that the wealth of experience Maxwell has had at all levels of the Scottish game can help him to hit the ground running when he takes over the role at the end of the season.

“I’m really pleased for him, I’ve been a big fan right from the beginning,” Topping said. “He’ll do really well.

“I think everybody should take heed of the fact that he’s played on the park, he’s led guys in the dressing room and he’s also taken on the leadership mantle at boardroom level at Partick Thistle.

“He has also played a prominent part in the SPFL, and he’s a football man through-and-through. He’s a great personality and he’s got a terrific brain. You underestimate Ian Maxwell at your peril, he’s a hell of a likeable guy but he understands football.

“He’s no-nonsense, he’s straight-forward, straight-talking and puts things over in a very direct way without alienating people, and that’s a wonderful gift to have.

“If the fans were looking for somebody who understands the game and who has played the game, then they have him. He’s perfect for the job.”

Topping dismissed any concerns about Maxwell’s relative youth and has backed his credentials for taking on such a key role in the Scottish game.

“He’s eminently well qualified for it and well suited for it,” he said. “He’s the kind of guy that the media will appreciate, and the fans will like.

“He’s continually looking to improve himself. He’s got a degree, but he’s doing a post-graduate degree too, and he just quietly gets on with it.

“I can’t think of a more qualified guy, and he knows the Scottish game well. He can relate to the coaches, the players and the fans.

“I don’t think he would have been too keen on a tour of Peru or wherever, and I think he would have some perspective on that.

“He’s captain sensible, and he’s a nice guy, one of the nicest I’ve met in football without being a guy that you would ever take lightly.”

Despite Maxwell’s affable nature, Topping says that he has a head for business and the wherewithal to help negotiate the best sponsorship and broadcasting deals possible due to his background working at the coalface on behalf of Partick Thistle and the SPFL as a collective.

“He’s got his feet on the ground and he sees who generates the money, it’s the clubs who generate the money,” he said.

“He understands the politics of that, and I think he’ll bring a lot of common sense to the SFA to be quite honest, because he is a real football guy.

“He’s got strong perspectives, he’s a good communicator, and he’ll get a hell of a lot of support from within football.

“You go into a room with Ian Maxwell and you enjoy it. It doesn’t all rest on the chief executive, there’s a lot of people have got to rally behind him.

“If we’re talking about the good of the game, then everyone – including the media, broadcasters and journalists – have to get behind the game up here.

“It’s been a great season with some fantastic games and a there’s a lot of good players emerging as well, which bodes well for all our interests.”