If Bermuda Football Association (BFA) are hunting for a cost effective candidate to fill their national team coach vacancy then a possible bargain could be right under their nose.

Last week Government dealt the BFA a hammer blow by slashing their annual grant allocation by 50 percent as part of a recession-busting budget, with local football's governing body admitting that a begging bowl might have to be sent around the Island.

Following the huge cut-back, the BFA placed the national coach's position under review and will almost certainly be looking to avoid a costly appointment for what's essentially a part-time position.

And if that's the case, technical director Derek Broadley could be the obvious answer to the BFA's monetary prayers.

Even before the credit crunch strengthened its vice-like grip, Broadley's name had been muted as a future national team coach.

Prior to the end of his ill-fated tenure as Bermuda boss, Keith Tucker suggested as much.

Now, Tucker's heavily US-flavoured soccer-speak may have been tough to translate for players (and journalists), but his suspicion that Broadley was the national coach-in-waiting could yet prove prophetic.

Straight-talking Scotsman, Broadley, has always insisted that a technical director and national coach should be separate jobs – the latter performed by a Bermudian – but at times he's hinted that he would quite fancy a crack.

Take his musings shortly after the Digicel Cup last August: "If you look across the Caribbean there are technical directors who also coach the national team," he told The Royal Gazette. "Cayman Islands' technical Carl Brown is also the head coach.

"However, I think Bermuda needs someone to oversee the whole programme and I certainly didn't come to the Island to be the national coach."

Although FIFA strongly advise against a country's technical director taking on a dual coaching role, for many less affluent Caribbean Islands there simply isn't an alternative.

And the question remains whether an Island Bermuda's size can really justify having both.

After all, Bermuda doesn't exactly have a hectic calendar of international fixtures and therefore there's no reason why Broadley couldn't oversee the newly formed national academy, while also running the senior team.

A major concern would be whether taking the reins would undermine and conflict with Broadley's position as technical director, as the nurturing nature of player development contrasts greatly with the "win at all cost" mentality of senior international football.

Regardless of the productivity of the academy production-line, a disappointing run of defeats could expose him to criticism.

A lack of international experience remains the one chink in Broadley's highly impressive CV, a hole that Tucker mischievously gouged at in the wake of him stepping down by mutual agreement.

Broadley swiftly responded by drafting in Bermuda's most decorated coach, Gary Darrell, as a technical advisor to address the so-called deficiency Tucker had alluded to.

It was a shrewd move and assured Broadley didn't come across as a patronising foreigner, while revealing his willingness to absorb local knowledge from respected patrons of the game.

Another smart move has seen Broadley help mend the previously strained relationship between Bermuda Hogges and the BFA, with both parties working together to build a new programme which will see Bermuda Under-23s play against USL-D2 opponents this summer.

The likelihood is Broadley, along with his lieutenants Devarr Boyles and Scott Morton, will oversee that series of matches which is another reason why making the TD top dog of the national team may seem like a sensible decision.

It would offer a natural transition with many of the Under-23 players sure to form the bulk of Bermuda's squad for the next World Cup qualifiers and Digicel Cup.

National team coaching duties would hardly faze Broadley. During his time as academy director at Crystal Palace he didn't so much work with big name players, but helped develop them.

The likes of Steve Sidwell (Aston Villa), Stephen Hunt (Reading and Republic of Ireland), Clinton Morrison (Coventry City and Republic of Ireland), Hayden Mullins (Portsmouth) and Ben Watson (Wigan) all came through the Eagles ranks during Broadley's watch.

And in these troubled financial times it could now make sense for Broadley to take the national coach's hot seat and save the BFA from shopping around.