SFA CHIEF executive Gordon Smith will put Scotland forward to host the 2012 European Championships if Uefa strips Poland and Ukraine of the tournament.

Preparations for the event are well behind schedule and unless there is substantial progress over the next five months alternative hosts will be sought.

This warning was issued at last week's Uefa congress in Zagreb, Croatia, and follows an independent report compiled by the director general of the 1998 World Cup, Jacques Lambert.

Smith, who was at the congress, stated: "If Poland and Ukraine pulled out we would put Scotland forward and say we wanted to be considered for it. In the meantime, we'd speak to the Scottish government and try to get a feasibility study done as to the costs and what's required in terms of stadium upgrades."

The first minister, Alex Salmond, is already on record as saying there was "absolutely no reason" why Scotland could not stage a bid for the 2016 championships. But by then, Uefa may have decided to increase the number of finalists to 20, or even 24, taking the tournament beyond Scotland's resources. If it became available for 2012, it could be Scotland's last chance to host the event. Last night, a spokesman for the Scottish government said: "If the SFA chose to investigate the possibility of staging the tournament and decided to apply to host it, it would have the full backing of the government."

The timing would also be convenient for the SFA, as the Olympics will be held in London that year. The association is resisting pressure to contribute to a British team in 2012, but public interest in that would fade in comparison to a major football tournament in Scotland.

Smith said: "We've had a lot of encouragement from the government, who said if we went for a European Championship they would be very supportive. They would have to be, because of the financial work required. We'd need to get more stadiums up to specification - in Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh."

Uefa chief executive David Taylor, the former SFA head who was involved in Scotland's failed bid- with the Republic of Ireland - to land Euro 2008, said of the Poland and Ukraine bid: "There has been some progress, but it needs to be accelerated. Over the next six months we need to see major steps forward, and there will be close monitoring by Uefa of the situation in that period of time."

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