McLeish exit hits 2008 bid

Scotland's proposed bid to stage the 2008 European Championships has been hit by Thursday's resignation of First Minister Henry McLeish. His departure is sure to hold up the workings of the Scottish Executive and by the time a new leader is elected Uefa will have announced the bidding criteria for the finals.

McLeish, who was a player at East Fife as a teenager and had a trial with Leeds, was a driving force behind the campaign to bring the finals to Scotland, which is worth an estimated £500m to the British economy.

The bid is a joint initiative between the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Football Association. Simon Lyons, a bid spokesman, said he was confident that the political will to back the bid, which includes up to £40m of public money to upgrade stadiums, would remain strong.

But by the time a new First Minister is appointed Uefa will have announced how many stadiums are required for a bid to have any chance of success. The Scots hope six 30,000-seater grounds will be enough and are trying to find two more to add to Hampden, Celtic Park, Ibrox and Murrayfield. Plans for new stadiums in Dundee and Aberdeen plus an upgrade of Hibernian's Easter Road are already drawn up.

But if Uefa insist on a minimum of eight then Scotland, who regard themselves as second favourites to a four-nation Scandinavian bid, could be forced to pull out. The eight-stadia ruling would force a joint bid with either Wales or Ireland, or both, and cost the Scots the advantages of being a single bidder.

An Austria-Switzerland bid is a strong contender, especially withUefa based in Switzerland. Turkey and Greece are also interested in joining forces to host the tournament, while Russia and Hungary are long-shot outsiders.

Meanwhile, the Hibernian midfielder Ian Murray yesterday won the Bank of Scotland young player of the month award for October.

Leeds United hope to have a £5m training and fitness academy built by next August. Work will start next month on the state-of-the-art complex which will built at the club's Thorp Arch training ground.

Facilities will include a full-size indoor training pitch, offices, a rehabilitation pool and a medical centre.

The Leeds chairman, Peter Ridsdale, said: "It reflects the progress we are making and means that, instead of having to beg and borrow or have members of the squad taken elsewhere for certain aspects of treatment, we can do almost everything on site."

Jesper Blomqvist, is set to make his Everton debut against Manchester United in a reserve match on Tuesday – just days after moving from Old Trafford.

Blomqvist, 27, who has overcome a serious knee injury, moved to Goodison Park on a free transfer after being released by United. His last senior game for United was their 1999 Champions' League final win over Bayern Munich.