The newly appointed Scottish FA President, Alan McRae, believes qualifying for next summer’s European Championships would be the perfect tribute to the late Chief Executive, David Taylor.

McRae was elected to replace Campbell Ogilvie at the Scottish FA’s Annual General Meeting and his first official duty will be to lead the Scotland delegation to Dublin for this weekend’s Group D qualifier against the Republic of Ireland.

Reaching Euro 2016 in France would, he stated, be a fitting way to remember the former UEFA General Secretary, who was instrumental in the expansion of the tournament to 24 teams.

In his first interview as President, McRae said: “I am honoured to have been elected President by the members of the Scottish FA and I extremely excited that the first official engagement will be such a massive qualifier.

“I believe we are good enough to get a positive result and given the results we have had under Gordon Strachan I believe we can qualify for European Championships. If we can, it would be a fitting tribute to the memory of the late David Taylor, who was such a prominent advocate for the expansion of the tournament. It would be fantastic if Scotland could take their place in France next summer.”

McRae’s election to the post of Presidency comes after a distinguished career in football administration. After playing a fundamental part in the rise of Cove Rangers from amateur status to Highland League, McRae has been involved in football from the grassroots level all the way up to UEFA, FIFA and International Football Association Board.

“I feel really proud and privileged - it has been a long and exciting journey,” McRae said.

“I started with Cove Rangers in the amateurs, moving them into juniors and then the Highland Football League over 30 years ago. Since joining the Scottish FA I’ve served on every one of the committees and boards, as well as working with UEFA, IFAB and FIFA.

“My association with the governing body extends to 23 years and it is a different world to the one I experienced when I played as a semi-professional footballer to where I am now. Once you get involved to want to be a success, as in any walk of life.”

He is committed to maintaining and enhancing the strong relationships already established between the Scottish FA and its partners in developing the game. “I’d like to focus on cultivating those relationships with all the bodies across the spectrum of the game – both  professional and non-professional - and those out with football, including the Scottish Government.

“I would like to focus on the development of young players, ensuring that talented boys and girls can become the Scotland stars of the future and to do that we need to provide more opportunities at grassroots and better facilities on which to play all year round.”