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.