FINE

margins, as you hear so many managers reflect, make the difference between success and failure in football.

Gordon Strachan’s five-year reign in charge of Scotland came to an end this week after their elimination from the World Cup.

It’s now 20 years since the Tartan Army went to a major tournament, and they deserve better – although my impression is that Scotland improved under Strachan. They were close to beating England and Slovenia – but fell just short.

Good luck to Strachan’s successor. It will not be easy to reverse the trend of 10 consecutive failures to qualify for big tournaments.