Organisers of Scotland's bid for the Euro 2008 tournament today called on the Scottish Executive to back plans for a solo bid for soccer's second-largest competition.
The organisers of Scotland's bid fear vital ground in the race to host the tournament could be lost because the Executive has yet to declare it will help fund £80 million sterling ground improvement plans.
They want clarification so the contingency plan of a link-up with the Republic of Ireland can be ditched.
Euro 2008 spokesman Simon Lyons said: "A solo bid has a lot stronger chance than a joint bid. The two main bidders against us are joint bids. We will never get an opportunity like this again".
"Ideally we wanted a decision at the start of January," he said. "The longer it takes then the more likely it is to be a solo bid".
"It would certainly be more difficult to fit Ireland in. We are already down a critical path. It would be a tight window although both are economically viable".
The FAI have declared they would interested in a joint-bid if asked, but plans for a new national stadium have yet to be ratified.
The Scots had planned to bring Ireland on board because they do not have enough stadia to meet UEFA criteria. UEFA wants at least eight 30,000-capacity all-seater stadia and Scotland currently has four, including Murrayfield, the home of Scottish rugby union.
PA