After initially stalling, it all moves along smoothly

Emmet Malone asks bid leader David Taylor how confident he feels after the final presentations

It all started just a little ingloriously. David Taylor and the rest of the Irish and Scots Euro 2008 bid team strode purposefully towards a waiting car to the accompaniment of a lone piper playing Scotland the Brave.

From there, it should have been straight to Nyon and UEFA's headquarters where a final presentation to European football's most powerful administrators would effectively mark the end of 18 months' work and the start of an 18-hour wait that might feel a good deal longer.

Instead, the car containing Taylor - the chairman of the bid committee and the man chosen to make yesterday's presentation - and several of his colleagues, sat motionless for quite some time, unable to manoeuvre its way past a variety of obstacles and out of their large hotel's rather small car park.

The captions to accompany the pictures wouldn't have been hard to dream up. Finally, they got away, though, and three hours later Taylor was back and in buoyant mood. Everything, he said enthusiastically, had gone very well.

"We made a strong presentation on a strong bid and we feel we're in with a real chance of winning this tournament."

Earlier this year, the SFA's confident and capable chief executive chaired the local organising committee for what is generally perceived to have been a successful Champions League final in Glasgow.

He made little attempt to hide the fact that the decision to have him make yesterday's presentation was an attempt to let today's tiny electorate know that if UEFA decides to entrust its other showpiece event to two of its less prominent national associations, he would be around to build on that success.

Asked what impact his address and the video that accompanied it might have had on the voting intentions of the executive committee members who meet at 10.30 a.m. (local time) this morning, he steered clear of even hazarding a guess.

"This race is simply too close to call," he observed. "The Swiss and Austrians are still the ones to beat, but the Nordic bid is strong too and you simply can't discount the others because several of them are impressive, too."

The favourites had used their presentation yesterday to counter Scottish and Irish claims that the love of the game in these parts will ensure a unique passion when the tournament is staged in six years time.

Their video extensively featured two children playing the game and both attended the presentation along with the bid team.

Swiss FA president Ralph Zloczower proudly showed UEFA committee members his steward's badge from the 1954 World Cup final.

The message was clear, not only is the bid technically sound, but in Austria and Switzerland both the young and the old love the game of football.

That is taken somewhat for granted in Ireland and Scotland where participation and interest levels in the game run much higher, but, unlike their rivals, the Celtic bid team were unable to show the media their video as it included Champions League footage and music by artists like U2 and Clannad on which they had not paid the royalties required to allow it to be screened publicly.

"All we can do now is wait," concluded Taylor, who said that while he hopes to be tipped off on the result not long after the decision is made, he fears he may have to sit with everyone else at today's press conference with his fingers crossed.

"In theory, the president (Lennart Johansson) will come in front of all the bidders and the media and open an envelope. All I can say is that if it's still a secret then, UEFA will have done well. For now, though, it's anybody's guess."