MY ECK IS ON THE BLOCK
Eyes on prize.. but failure will mean oblivion
ALEX McLEISH admits he is a man on the edge as he goes into crunch time with Scotland.
The Hampden boss is on an international tightrope in the Nations League in Albania tonight with qualification for the Euro 2020 play-offs in his team’s hands – as well as the prospect of complete oblivion on the big stage. If they mess up tonight then they have another chance to salvage the situation against Israel on Tuesday, but McLeish said: “We must get results. Nothing else matters but these two games.”
ALEX McLEISH knows the knives are out for him just eight games into his second spell as Scotland boss.
The Tartan Army are in Albania for tonight’s Nations League game, and then host Israel on Tuesday.
A couple of damaging defeats would see Scotland relegated from Group C and into Europe’s footballing basement, scrapping with the likes of San Marino next time round.
McLeish has been hamstrung by the withdrawal of 12 players – with Kieran Tierney last night joining key men John McGinn, Steven Naismith and Leigh Griffiths on the treatment table – but he knows what is at stake.
He said: “I can understand the fickleness of football these days.
“It isn’t easy for coaches and managers to accept it the way it is. If I put it into perspective, it will have been four competitive games that I would have played. That’s it. Every other one was a friendly, and four or five of the teams were a wee bit out of our league.
“I look at it in that perspective. I have to, because if I look at it in a frenetic way then I’m not going to be able to do my job right.
“I just go forward with resilience. I use that word quite a lot. That is what I plan to do. I believe and trust in this squad. Despite the call-offs, there is terrific camaraderie among the guys who have come to play for Scotland.”
McLeish has been in the firing line after the alarming 2-1 defeat in Israel coupled with the miserable run of friendly hammerings, including 4-0 at home by Belgium and 3-1 at home by an under-strength Portugal. That has battered Tartan Army morale. The Scotland boss is in determined mood though.
He said: “Listen, we all know that after a couple of games you can be getting pelters. But I have to use my experience.
“I took a hit after Israel. It wasn’t as if I bounced up the next
morning and said, ‘Oh, I feel terrific’. I am looking to see how I can fix things, how I can make it better.”
Albania boss Christian Panucci is in a similar crisis to McLeish, but after more than 20 years in management the Scot realises the cut-throat environment in which he works.
He said: “That is the instinct everywhere when there are four or five bad results. A couple of wins and there is a blue sky all of a sudden. We are still aspiring.
“I have tried a lot of players. We have chopped and changed a little bit. In the last game we showed faith from the Albania game (a 2-0 win) to the match in Israel and there were contrasting performances.
“Getting consistency is the thing and consistency of selection is very important. You try to get a rhythm and an understanding with each other.
“The more we play the better that understanding will be.”
McGinn’s injury this week took the list to 11 out, not even counting the players who decided to swerve national service. The manager added: “We have had a lot of injuries and these are the things that as a manager or coach you can never legislate for.
“It’s stacking up with right-sided players.
“In the first place when I came into the job, we cast the net far and wide and we have studied the Scottish Premiership, Championship and even the American league with Johnny Russell coming back.
“So nobody can say we haven’t cast the net wide, but there are a few injuries at the minute.
“I am not going to speak about players who aren’t in the squad. I am going to speak about the guys who are in the squad.
“They are bursting to play. I know we can say that before every game.
“But I feel positive about the outcome here. It is up to me to impart that to our players.”