Michael Bailey Former Norwich City goalkeeper Bryan Gunn believes current number one David Marshall stands to benefit from Scotland's latest managerial appointment.

Michael Bailey

Former Norwich City goalkeeper Bryan Gunn believes current number one David Marshall stands to benefit from Scotland's latest managerial appointment.

Former Ipswich manager George Burley is expected to be unveiled as Scotland's new national coach today after leaving his job at the Canaries' Championship rivals Southampton.

With a manager who will have a lot of knowledge on players in the Championship, Gunn believes Marshall has a great chance of becoming a regular on the Scotland scene under Burley.

“That's obviously something David will be hoping to do,” said the City goalkeeping legend. “He was very highly regarded by the previous Scotland manager. He was in the top three goalkeepers then, and that's great for him and I'm sure he'll want to push the likes of Craig Gordon and Allan McGregor even more to try and get even higher up the pecking order.

“I suppose George Burley will have seen David on a number of occasions in the Championship and hopefully he's been impressed with what he's seen. So it might be a good move for David.”

Sunderland's Craig Gordon and Rangers' stopper Allan McGregor have been Scotland's first and second choice keepers in recent times, but Marshall will be hoping to press his claims for a place in Burley's first Scotland squad against England's conquerors, Croatia, at Hampden Park in March.

Either way, Gunn feels the Scottish Football Association have chosen a sensible successor to Alex McLeish.

“He looks like he's come out on top of the other three candidates that were chosen alongside him - Tommy Burns, Mark McGhee and Graeme Souness - and I suppose George played his football in the same era as those guys.

“I think they were all involved in the Scotland set-up at the same time, so they were all likely candidates, just like Alex McLeish was prior to this appointment.

“So I think it's a sensible appointment. He's got great experience at international level and has obviously been involved with teams in Scotland, in the Premiership and in the Championship, which have extended his coaching credentials. I think all in all it's a good appointment.”

Although Marshall will be looking forward to proving his international credentials to Burley, Scotland's current number one will also be confident of keeping his place under his new national boss.

Sunderland's £9m keeper Craig Gordon worked under Burley at Hearts during the manager's brief reign on Tynecastle, and he believes Burley is the right man for the job.

“In the short time he was at Hearts he made a huge impact, and I think it's important for Scotland that he would be able to continue what we have been doing and the progress that has been made,” said Gordon.

“He's a good lad to have about. He can be good fun and he likes to join in with the players and to involve himself in a lot of the training. He knows there are a lot of Scots who are playing week-in, week-out in the Premier League and the Championship, which is another high-quality league.”

One thing the appointment does mean is Norwich's next Championship opponents will have a new man at the helm, be it a permanent or caretaker manager in charge of Southampton at St Mary's on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, Norwich City's liaison officer Bryan Gunn is hopeful the club will reap the transfer benefits of their hard work over the coming days, as the January transfer window approaches its end game.

The former City goalkeeper, who was handed his current job by former boss Peter Grant to help ease the pressure heaped on the City manager at this time of year, is sure there are deals to be done before February hits everyone's calendar.

And if little is coming out of Carrow Road on the current transfer front, it does not mean work on that score is not ongoing.

“A lot of it doesn't get reported in the press because basically it's phone calls in to find out about availability, but hopefully there'll be a few of those calls that we'll be able to pursue and turn into loan signings, or possibly permanent signings, before the end of the season,” Gunn told the official club website.

Although a number of players have been though the Carrow Road exit door, it has been much quieter on players coming into the club. Chelsea starlet Ryan Bertrand the only fresh face to join the club since January, although Matty Pattison, Ched Evans and Mo Camara have all extended their pre-January stay at Norwich.

But with the likelihood of more ins and outs before the end of the month, Gunn's work continues behind the Carrow Road scenes. “It's really a time for the agents to get on the phone and recommend their players or try and find out from other clubs who they might be willing to put out on loan,” said Gunn.

“Obviously with Glenn, Lee and Paul, with their contacts, we're all working together to try and get some players in. So that's something that's ongoing and working hard behind the scenes.”