George Burley has been appointed Scotland manager, replacing Alex McLeish on a four-and-a-half year deal.

The SFA tied up contract negotiations with the 51-year-old on Thursday morning after they agreed a compensation package with his club Southampton.

Burley's appointment was described as "unanimous" despite surprise in some quarters that he was preferred to Motherwell manager Mark McGhee, Graeme Souness and Celtic assistant boss Tommy Burns.

He comes in after McLeish quit to join Birmingham following an impressive - but ultimately unsuccessful - Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.

"I feel taking this job gives me an opportunity to do something, to get to the World Cup finals, and as a manager you can't get any more than that," Burley said, adding that he "never thought" he would get the job.

"I have played for my country as a player from the age of 15all the way through to the World Cup.

"Now as manager, well, it's a great honour. I am at the stage of my career, I've been a manager for almost 16 years, and I feel I'm ready for it.

"Hopefully we can push all the way to the World Cup finals. I am saying to everybody, to the managers, to the players and fans, 'Let's go for it!'

"If I can get Scotland to qualify for the World Cup, that would be my achievement and then take it from there."

Scotland have not reached the World Cup since 1998, and have been drawn in a qualifying group with Netherlands, Norway, Iceland and Macedonia.

The 51-year-old has extensive experience in charge of Ipswich, Derby and Hearts, although he has come in for criticism following Southampton's indifferent form this season.

The former right-back, who made over 400 appearances for Ipswich as a player, made a name for himself as a manager during an eight-year stint at the helm of the Suffolk club, during which time he got them promoted into the top flight and secured qualification for the UEFA Cup, for which he won the 2001 Premier League Manager of the Year award.

Burley inherits a Scottish side on a high after beating France at home and away in Euro 2008 qualifying. However, they missed out on a place in the finals, losing 2-1 at home to Italy in their final game, which they needed to win.

McLeish took them to 13th in the FIFA rankings, their highest position since records began, although they have since slipped a place to 14th.

GEORGE BURLEY FACTFILE

1956: Born June 3, in Cumnock, Ayrshire.

1972: Joins Ipswich as an apprentice.

1973: Makes senior debut against Manchester United at Old Trafford, and given the job of marking George Best.

1978: Member of the Ipswich side which upset the odds to defeat Arsenal 1-0 in FA Cup final.

1981: Injury forces him out of Ipswich's UEFA Cup final triumph over AZ Alkmaar and Town miss out on First Division title on last day, finishing runners-up to Aston Villa and beaten by Manchester City in FA Cup semi-final.

1985: Joins Sunderland after making 500 appearances for Ipswich.

1988: Joins Gillingham.

1989: Joins Motherwell.

1990: Appointed player-manager of Ayr United.

1993: Moves to Falkirk as a player before returning to Motherwell as player-coach.

1994: June - Crosses border again to become player-manager of Colchester and makes promising start at Layer Road.

December - Returns to Ipswich four days after resigning at Colchester.

1995-96: Builds anexciting young side which tops the divisional scoring charts but just misses out of the Division One play-offs.

1996-97: Loses play-off semi-final to Sheffield United on away goals.

1997-98: Takes Ipswich into play-offs again only to fall to Charlton in semi-finals.

1998-99: Ipswich make play-offs for third year running but this time bow out toBolton in semi-finals on away goals.

1999-2000: Ipswich miss out on automatic promotion on last day of season.

Defeat Bolton 5-3 on aggregate to finally make it to Wembley play-off final where they beat Barnsley 4-2.

2000-01: Finish fifth in Premiership to earn a place in the UEFA Cup - only missing out on a Champions League spot on the final day of the season. Named manager of the year by the League Managers' Association.

2001-02: Despite wins over Torpedo Moscow and Helsingborg, UEFA Cup adventure ends with a 4-1 defeat in the San Siro at the hands of Inter Milan.

Ipswich make a terrible start to the league campaign and relegation is confirmed on the final day of the season with a 5-0 loss at Liverpool.

2002: Ipswich win a place in the UEFA Cup through the Fair Play League but after winning their first two Division One games Town's league form slumps, with a 3-0 defeat at Grimsby a low point.

October 11 - With Ipswich 19th in the table, Burley is sacked.

October 30 - Turns down Stoke job and Tony Pulis is appointed instead.

2003: March 31 - Appointed as interim manager of Derby.

May 6 - Signs a two-year contract with the Rams.

2004: May - Derby escape relegation from Division One by a point.

2005: Makes some shrewd signings, in particular Inigo Idiakez and Grzegorz Rasiak, and Derby finish fourth in the Championship, but lose semi-final play-off to Preston.

2005: June 7 - Resigns as manager of Derby.

June 30 - Appointed head coach at Scottish Premier League club Hearts, who start the season with eight consecutive league wins.

October 21 - Lithuanian businessman Vladimir Romanov takes his shareholding in the club to 55 per cent. Burley says: "It's great news. One of the reasons I came to Hearts was after going to Lithuania to speak to Mr Romanov."

October 22 - With Hearts three points clear of Celtic at the top of the table, Burley parts company with the club following a disagreement with Romanov.

December 22 - Southampton announce Burley will be their new head coach.

2007: May 15 - Leads Southampton to the Coca-Cola Championship play-offs after finishing sixth. Saints go out on penalties to eventual play-off winners Derby.

August 13 - Saints knocked out of the Carling Cup by League Two Peterborough.

2008: January 19 - Reports suggest Burley features in the final two in the race to succeed Alex McLeish as Scotland manager, having initially been on a four-man shortlist.

January 23 - The Scottish Football Association offer Burley the Scotland job. Southampton agree to release Burley after settling on compensation with the SFA, and contract negotiations begin. Scottish FA president George Peat says: "We think we've got the right man."

Eurosport