Ian Maxwell throws backing behind new SFA President Rod Petrie
Ian Maxwell believes new Scottish Football Association president Rod Petrie is the most "misunderstood'' figure in the Scottish game.
The Hibernian chairman has been confirmed as the 53rd man to lead the Hampden board at the governing body's AGM.
Yet he remains a divisive figure with fans of his Easter Road club as well as the Tartan Army.
He proved such an unpopular figure with the Hibs faithful that he was forced to bring in Leeann Dempster as chief executive to take over the day-to-day running of the Leith outfit.
And he and outgoing president Alan McRae have been largely blamed for the disastrous appointment of Alex McLeish as Scotland boss.
But SFA chief executive Maxwell insists Petrie - who will have new vice-president Mike Mulraney of Alloa as his right-hand man - is committed to improving Scottish football.
He said: "Rod will bring a huge amount of experience, a huge work ethic and a huge desire to see Scottish football do well.
"I'm really delighted to be working with him going forward. I think he's probably the most misunderstood man in Scottish football.
"He has a huge desire to see the association and Scottish football progress and I think he'll play a huge part in that going forward.''
Petrie has been handed the SFA's top job despite calls for the organisation's out-dated structure to be changed.
The Tartan Army chanted "sack the board'' during McLeish's final game in charge against San Marino but Petrie - an office bearer for the last eight year - has been promoted to president unopposed.
And the Hibs chief insists his critics should focus on the future rather than what has gone before.
Petrie said: "It goes without saying that today is a proud day and I am grateful to the membership for endorsing my presidency.
"It is always appropriate to respect and honour the past. My appointment is not a reward for what I have done, rather a recognition of the contribution I can make during my term of office as president.
"I take the responsibility seriously and will continue to work hard in the best interests of Scottish football.
"We are a members organisation with responsibility for all of the game. We need to harness our strengths and engage in a constructive way with all of our stakeholders to make the Scottish FA and the national game the best it can be at all levels.''
Meanwhile, Maxwell says the SFA are progressing with plans to upgrade Hampden after deciding against a move to Murrayfield earlier this year.
But he admits it will take some time for major changes to take place.
He said: "There are plans (to upgrade the stadium) and whether that happens this season or not, there are things we can do in the short term.
"Upgrading the stadium in the sense that everybody will understand to mean will take a bit longer, it will take a bit of financing, a bit of resources and we'll have to work up the plans for that.
"But once we get the transaction completed we can look at the match-day experience for the supporters and how we can improve that.''
Maxwell also confirmed the 2020 Scottish Cup final has been moved forward to May 9 - two weeks before the final game of the Ladbrokes Premiership is due to take place.
The move has been insisted upon by UEFA as part of the conditions that will see the National Stadium host four games during that summer's European Championships.
Maxwell said: "There's a hold-off period for the pitch and they are not allowed any activity on the pitch for a period before the first Euro match.
"We've known that since we agreed to host matches and I don't see that being any real issue to any of the clubs in terms of fitting that into their domestic season."