As some of you will know, this commentator has been granted plenty of thinking time this season, much of it at 37,000 feet. En route from Scotland to the United States, after covering ESPN’s Matchday Live from Tannadice, I find myself pondering what’s next for Dundee United’s excellent manager Craig Levein.

Not without good reason, Levein is the favourite to land the vacant Scotland post. United’s remarkable 2-1 win over Celtic on Sunday certainly did plenty to bolster the argument that the 45-year-old - who played 16 times for his country - is the ideal man to succeed George Burley.

One of the Scottish game’s deeper thinkers, Levein has something all the top managers have in abundance: natural authority. Not a man to suffer fools gladly, you had better be on your game when working with the United boss, and that applies to us in the media as much as it does to players wearing tangerine.

His work since 2006 with Dundee United might appear solid, rather than spectacular, but the evidence of significant improvement is undeniable. It’s all the more laudable when you consider that no player on the club’s books makes more than £2,000 a week.

Levein has the knack of getting the very best out of players who are far from superstars. As Sunday proved with the astute use of substitutes Jon Daly, David Goodwillie and Danny Swanson, he has the ability to make positive, match-altering decisions. These are important qualities the next Scotland manager must possess.

So you might expect me to be a strong advocate of Craig Levein for the national side, and I have to say he does appear to be the outstanding candidate. But there’s part of me that hopes he remains on Tayside to build on the blocks already put in place.

During the summer, Levein thought outside the box and tore the club’s old youth system asunder, appointing the innovative Ian Cathro and Brian Grant and placing the emphasis firmly on players’ technique. Cathro has no prior experience with an SPL club but his radical methods struck a chord with the manager.

I made the point on-air before kick-off on Sunday that if one team is to push Rangers and Celtic this term, Dundee United might just be that team. A case can be made for Hibernian too, but United appear to have a little bit more tactical flexibility, again a tribute to Craig Levein.

No one can get inside his mind, and approaches haven’t been made to him or any other potential Scotland manager, but this much is clear: Levein is the hottest coaching property in the Scottish game at the moment. He has unfinished business south of the border too, having found himself in charge of Leicester City at a less than opportune time.

Does Craig Levein covet the Scotland job? Will he stay the course with Dundee United and finish the job he has started? Are both the Scotland and Dundee United positions, in his way of thinking, a stepping stone to English football?

Deep down, I’m guessing he’s rather enjoying being the king of the managerial castle in Scotland at the moment. It’s never a bad thing to be wanted in any walk of life. Even if - when all is said and down - Levein remains at Tannadice, he’ll still be a manager going places.

It’s time for everyone connected with Scottish football to get on with the business of improving our game north of the border. I write this in the immediate aftermath of the Premier League’s decision to reject a proposal arguing for future involvement by the Old Firm in a new and expanded form of England’s top flight structure.

Perhaps now we can all forget about EPL 2, North Atlantic leagues and escape hatches generally. Rangers and Celtic are in Scotland to stay, and they would be doing themselves and all the other SPL clubs a favour, if they start talking up and empowering the domestic league.

The 12 SPL chairmen rarely dance to the same tune, but when it comes to the future of the top division, not one of them should be off key. They are all in this together, and it’s time everyone got around the table and agreed on a radical plan to serve the interests of Scottish football as a whole. If that means throwing out the current 38-match fixture list, with a split after 33 games, so be it. Likewise, if a relegation play-off would make for a more compelling end to the season, put it in. This is no time for beating about the bush.

No one can deny that this is a difficult period for the Old Firm clubs on the financial front. Yet it’s vital that they view their current off-pitch travails in the context of the league as a whole.

For many years, the top clubs in Italy and Spain have been sending their younger players on loan to other clubs in their own leagues. That a Real Madrid player might prosper wearing the colours of Getafe is deemed beneficial to that particular youngster’s development. A case in point is Esteban Granero, now back at the parent club after a highly successful loan period with Getafe.

Many of us in Scotland have been salivating at the prospect of a title race involving more than just two teams. Hibernian and Dundee United have both demonstrated in the early part of the campaign that they have the capacity to push Rangers and Celtic. It’s incumbent upon all the decision makers to find a way of making this the norm, rather than a once-in-a-decade phenomenon – and that includes the two established powers.

As I’ve argued in previous blogs, the only way forward for Scottish football is to place a strong emphasis on youth. We might all have to get used to a tumbling co-efficient for a while, but realistically there is little choice, and there will be benefits in the long run.

Let me start with the good news today. The most recent round of SPL fixtures was the most compelling so far this season. Sadly, the one match that didn’t deliver was the Edinburgh derby at Tynecastle. After all, some of us had journeyed quite a distance to see it unfold!

We, on ESPN, gave the Hearts v Hibernian contest the requisite big build-up but it was a drab affair with little to say for itself. Such a shame really as the day itself in one of Europe’s great capitals was glorious, while Armistice weekend was marked with taste and dignity.

Hibs, the form team going in, were never able to impose their preferred slick passing game on a Hearts team better known for robust obduracy. That John Hughes lost Merouane Zemmama to injury and had to leave Derek Riordan on the bench for the same reason, meant a big shift in approach. Colin Nish an old-fashioned aerial centre forward has his uses, but you always feel there’s a tendency to play too many high balls in his direction when the big man is named in the side. Nish also needs someone to play off and there was no one fulfilling this important role.

Abdessalam Benjelloun, who endured a forgettable afternoon was caught in the no man’s land area between midfield and attack. Anthony Stokes was similarly marginalised in a wide position on the left. Hibs simply didn’t spark into life until the gifted Riordan came on midway through the second half. Suddenly the Hearts defenders, Jose Goncalves and Ismael Bouzid who had been strolling through the game had something to think about.

Hearts held dominion over their city rivals for much of the game but lacked a cutting edge. It has been a problem for the men in maroon all season and there is no panacea in sight. The bulky Christian Nade can hold the ball up well enough, but hasn’t scored for nine months in the SPL and all clubs must demand more from their first choice centre-forward.

Hibs came close to scoring when David Wotherspoon’s shot took a slight deflection off the head of Nish, yet somehow Janos Balogh changed direction to make one of the saves of the SPL season. Hearts had a last gasp shout for a penalty rightly turned down when substitute Jamie Mole went down but an award would have been very harsh.

Conclusions from the first Edinburgh derby of the campaign? Hearts will continue to struggle unless Csaba Laszlo is allowed to sign a finisher in January and preferably someone with a bit of creative ability in midfield. They are woefully short in both areas.

Saturday was proof that Hibernian don’t have the capacity to play swashbuckling football every week. For verve and adventure they are heavily reliant on the manager’s ‘maverick four’ (Riordan, Stokes, Zemmama and Benjelloun.) When one member of that quarter is out, they’re not quite the same.

Every other match on Saturday and Sunday provided the sort of entertainment Scottish fans have been craving. The 2-2 draw in the Lanarkshire derby between Hamilton and Motherwell was incident packed and engrossing. Fair play to the Accies for earning a point despite being reduced to ten men for most of the match.

Sunday’s 3-3 draw at The Falkirk Stadium must go down as one of the best SPL spectacles in many a year. Celtic fans probably thought they would stroll to victory against the bottom club, but Eddie May’s young charges were up for it and provided a perfect example of how the less fashionable clubs might have a go at the Old Firm as winter takes hold.

Meanwhile, I remain confident that the next Edinburgh derby on January 3 will have considerably more substance.

So we are finally here – the first Edinburgh derby live on ESPN – and you would not want to miss it. Thanks to an incredible start to the season by Hibs under the stewardship of new manager John Hughes, and the lacklustre start by their capital rivals Hearts – this game has all the necessary ingredients to be a classic.

Hearts simply can’t afford to lose this one, as that would leave them an amazing 14 points behind Hibs in the table, an embarrassing statistic that really sums up their SPL form this season.

In fact, it’s hard to know which Hearts side will turn up on Saturday at Tynecastle, the one which defeated Celtic at Parkhead just a week or so ago in the League Cup, or the one which lost 2-1 at St Mirren a while back. It must be an infuriating question for boss Csaba Laszlo. The manager in fairness has been without many of his key players this season, but still, their squad is better than their league position suggests. So perhaps there is a bit of early season pressure on Laszlo. He will also be only too aware that he’s not won a game against Hibs in the league since he took over in Gorgie.

Yet, what a tale of contrasting fortunes it is for ‘Yogi’ Hughes. The enigmatic Easter Road boss is off to a dream start in Edinburgh. He has his team 2nd top of the SPL, and two weeks ago they drew 1-1 with Rangers at Ibrox – an indication that they are the real deal (for now anyway). Hughes has employed an attacking formation in recent games highlighting his bravery, and it’s proved to be a real hit with his players. Perhaps it can be best described as a 4-2-4, yes that’s not a typo, and I mean 4-2-4! In Zemmama, Benji, Riordan and Stokes they have quite a forward-thinking quartet. If they are deployed in the capital clash then it could be a wide-open explosive affair. Benji even recently stated that he thinks his team can split the Old Firm this season – I doubt that, but if he’s serious then this is the kind of game they have to win.

Mind you, recent history is on Hibs’ side. They did not lose a derby to Hearts in the league last season, and they have actually won the last two in a row. Any guesses as to when they last won three in a row? Well it was the 1975-76 season – what a chance they have to do that at Tynecastle.

The last derby in Gorgie was a tough battle between the teams, with Derek Riordan’s penalty proving the difference (and it sparked mayhem in the crowd), but I expect this one to be a little different. I really do think there will be more passing and creative play on display – that’s what Hughes and Laszlo demand – but I fear that type of encounter will only play into Hibs’ hands. They have the attacking options and the form book with them – but hey after all, it only takes a derby to throw all that form out the window!

Catch our big-match build-up live on ESPN tomorrow at the slightly earlier than normal time of 11.45am. In the lead-up to kick-off we’ll bring you exclusive interviews with Derek Riordan and Anthony Stokes, as well as Andy Driver of Hearts, a man who’s been in the headlines a lot recently. You really wouldn’t want to miss this one.