The contenders together on Friday

Both Mr Swinney and Mr Neil remained in good cheer despite the delay in the vote.

Mr Neil said it was a question of "wait and see" and he was paying little heed to indication of a 60% to 40% in favour of John Swinney.

He told BBC News Online Scotland: "When the race started I was told I'd be lucky to get 10% then it was 20% and upwards, so time will tell. There isn't long to go now."

Mr Swinney said: "I have been counting the hours by which this ordeal would be over and didn't expect to have an hour and half put on at the back of end of it, so we'lll just be patient and wait until the result comes out.

"I have no idea which post the recount is taking place on. The count is obviously a very private matter and there are elections that involve the transferring of votes from candidate to candidate and I don't have any information on that."

Mr Swinney said he had enjoyed the build-up to the vote but, as had been the case throughout the campaign, many things went through his mind in the final hours.

"One of the characteristics of this whole leadedrship campaign has been my ability to wake up at all sorts of hours of the day and night to different numbers and constituency votes rushing around in my mind," he said.

This is the man whose shoes the contenders want to fill

"It's been a long campaign, I'm glad it's over and last night was not a night of long and prolonged sleep but it was an enjoyable social evening on the conference circuit."

Mr Swinney conceded that the fire which has characterised Alex Neil's campaign has not always been evident in his own delivery.

However, the passion was there in abundance in his final hustings speech to delegates and he pledged that it would be very much a characteristic from now on if delegates made him their champion.

He said: "The party has always had me in a particular box knowing that I was always a competent administrator and manager and competent operator.

"What they have perhaps not seen coming out of me is the passion that inspired me to join the Scottish National Party 21 years ago and it's never perhaps come out of me because I've been doing the job to deliver the goods for the party electorally.

"What the party saw last night was the real burning passion of my Scottish nationalism and the party had to see it last night because they had to have the final persuasion that I was the right candidate for the job."

Asked if SNP supporters could always expect that passion he vowed: "Yes and always."

Not all the conference attendees were fussed by the delay

The decision on the new leader - taken by about 800 people - was supposed to have been known by midday on Saturday.

The election did not work on the basis of one member, one vote - instead, the bigger the constituency party, the more delegates it was allowed to send to vote in the secret ballot.

Votes were also cast to choose the next deputy leader, treasurer and policy vice-convenor as well as a host of other posts.

Justice spokeswoman Roseanna Cunningham was competing with Transport Spokesman Kenny MacAskill and activist Peter Kearney to be the deputy leader.