PEDRO NEEDS GORD’S GIFT Barry Ferguson reckons Gers boss can do a Strachan
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IF Pedro Caixinha needs a lesson in the art of turning a tricky situation around in his new country he need look no further than the home dugout at Hampden Park. Because the job Gordon Strachan has done on Scotland’s World Cup campaign should remind the Rangers manager how quickly fortunes can change in football when you have a bit of momentum on your side. It wasn’t that long ago Strachan was coming under all sorts of pressure after a really disappointing start to the latest qualification campaign. I remember feeling incredibly frustrated about it because I expected so much more from the team than four miserable points from the first 12 on offer in Group F. But never once did I join in with the lynch mob who wanted Strachan out. I said at the time he was the only man for the job because I knew he was the right guy to get the best out of the squad we have at our disposal. As a player you know when things are going wrong inside a dressing-room environment. You get a sense for when a manager has lost his way – and often when there is no way back. But it never felt that way where Strachan and Scotland were concerned, even when the results were not what we were all expecting.
So I have to say as a Scotland fan I’m absolutely delighted the manager and players are back on the right track after taking six points from six against Lithuania and Malta in the last double header.
All of a sudden we’re looking at a Scotland team with a spring in their step and a real belief in what it’s doing and in the leadership of the manager.
I was fully confident ahead of the game in Vilnius last Friday night but even I was surprised with the level of the performance the boys put on.
For me it was the most complete 90 minutes of Strachan’s time in charge and very possibly one of the best Scotland displays in the last couple of decades.
There is an energy and enthusiasm about this team now which gives me great hope going into the last two games of the campaign – so much so that I’ve already sorted out my ticket for when Slovakia come to Hampden next month.
I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else on a night like that and I firmly believe
He’ll have got rid