SCOTLAND boss Shelley Kerr admits she dreams of making it big in the men's game.

The 50-year-old has reached the pinnacle of the female sport after leading the nation to our first World Cup in 20 years.

5 Shelley Kerr in the dugout for Scotland Credit: Willie Vass - The Sun

Kerr and her gallant girls came within a whisker of making the knockout stages of the competition before a heart-breaking collapse against Argentina.

The Scots held a three-goal lead heading into the final 15 minutes of the game before a combination of bad-luck and VAR dashed our hopes.

Five months on from the sorry end to a thrilling journey, Shelley looks back on the tournament and outlines her aspirations for the future in the latest episode of our brilliant Open Goal on the Road podcast.

Shelley is third up in a series of nine video interviews launched to help promote the Scottish Government and Road Safety Scotland's #DriveSmart campaign with Amy Macdonald and Chick Young already taking their places in the driving seat.

And although she adores her current job, Shelley confesses she has always had a burning desire to return to the men's game after snubbing offers when she was Stirling Uni boss because she wanted to finish her degree course.

She said: "I love my job. When you play for your country as a player and then you get the opportunity to manage them it's a dream come true.

"This job for me is the pinnacle but I've never hidden the fact I've always had aspirations of working in the men's game.

5 Shelley Kerr on touchline during time in charge of Stirling Uni Credit: Keith Campbell - The Sun Glasgow

"I'm ambitious and every job has a life span no matter who you are because you need a freshness.

"Going back to working in the men's game, there was a couple of approaches from some senior teams.

"But the timing wasn't right for me at that point. I was about to go into the graduation period. So there was a few months left for me to do my dissertation.

"I had worked so hard for something that I felt was really important for me in the future, so the timing wasn't right.

"It was a surprise, a pleasant surprise and I did think really long and hard about it but I just felt for me I wanted to finish my degree.

5 Kerr passes on instructions to Callum Burns Credit: Keith Campbell - The Sun Glasgow

"I had spent two-years there and there was no way that I was going to give that up, no matter what the circumstances. It was a tough decision but again, it was probably the right one."

Leading bookmakers priced Shelley as a 33/1 shot to land the Hearts job following Craig Levein's sacking.

And when asked if she could manage at the top level of the men's game, she said: "I don't know. Again, I am a realist. I don't think you are ever the finished article.

"I think that you have got to go through different stages of your life and work with different players at different levels.

"I don't think it is great when someone goes in and works at the top level right away. Where is your grounding?

"Some people are successful at doing it but it's just not what I would do. I think you have got to develop yourself in many different situations and get things wrong.

"I don't know where the ceiling is for me.

"Do I feel confident as a coach? I think there needs to be a starting point.

5 Scotland's women came so close to a knockout spot Credit: Willie Vass - The Sun

"I've not worked in the men's professional game. I have worked in the Lowland League albeit I have taken a women's national team.

"So you've got to be realistic. You've got to start off at the lower level. I probably wouldn't expect someone to recruit me right in to the top level because I have not got the experience of doing that so there is got to be a starting point.

"If you are asking me in terms of my ability to do the job and working the men's professional game then yeah I do think I could do it.

"For the hear and now I am very focused on the job I have got but I have always had aspirations of working in the men's game.

"Would that be a manager? Could it be a performance role? An academy? I certainly think I have got a lot of attributes that I could do that."

5 Shelley joins Si as our latest guest

Shelley led Scotland's women to the World Cup Finals for the very first time and they were drawn alongside England, Argentina and Japan in the group stage.

Following two 2-1 defeats to England and Japan the Scots went into the last group game with the chance to still reach the knockout stages.

Everything was going to plan with the Dark Blues leading 3-0 going into the final 15 minutes of the clash with Argentina.

But a combination of bad luck and VAR, which is causing all kinds of controversy in England's top flight this season, played a huge part in our downfall after Lee Alexander initially saved a stoppage time penalty before being judged to not have had at least part of one foot on the goal-line.

There was no mistake from the spot second time around as Scotland's World Cup hopes came crashing down.

Shelley admits she DIDN'T enjoy her finals experience and instead looks back more fondly on the send-off game at Hampden and a particular moment that will live with her forever.

She said: "The game before we went to the World Cup we played Jamaica at Hampden. There was 18,500 people there.

"People were speaking about how I felt at the World Cup and my experiences. I didn't enjoy it.

"The pressure increases to a degree that you've never had before and the weight of the country is on your shoulders because every one is expecting you to do well.

"But I had a moment at Hampden where I led the team out and I looked up at the big screen and it's got 18,500 on it.

"That moment will live with me forever because I never in my life time thought I would have seen 18,500 at a women's game in Scotland. It's just incredible.

"You talk about the legacy and how can we put a pathway in place, how can we grow the game and put the legacy in place where a little girl doesn't have to go through what I went through as a young kid. Getting called a tomboy, no you can't play here this is for boys. That's something that really gives me a lot of pride.

"Forget the World Cup, of course it was great that we got there but for me the other parts are more important.

"It was great but what I would say that for someone that is as old as me being embroiled in the game, the Jamaica one in terms of the legacy part and where you know the landscape has changed was something really special."