It’s so harsh.. Scotland job meant more to Gord than any other he’s had
SAYS NEIL LENNON
NEIL LENNON reckons Gordon Strachan was harshly treated after the SFA gave his old gaffer the boot.
The Hibs boss – who insists he has no interest in the job despite being as short as 14-1 – is convinced Scotland were on the right road despite failing to reach the World Cup play-offs.
The Northern Irishman was skipper when Strachan led Celtic to the Champions League last 16 twice as well as three titles in a row.
The 60-year-old also took Southampton to the FA Cup Final in 2003, their first in almost three decades.
But Lennon insists the Scotland job meant more to Strachan – capped 50 times as a player – than any other in his managerial career.
He said: “Has there been progress? Yes. But it wasn’t enough for Gordon to keep his job and it is very harsh for him to lose it. That job meant more to Gordon than any other he’s been in.
“Every win was magnified 10 times bigger than any other he had in club football.
“There has been a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth and it’s because it has been 20 years now since Scotland qualified for a major tournament.
“But there have been a lot of good managers in that period. Berti Vogts won the Euros.
“We’ve had Walter Smith, Alex McLeish, George Burley, Craig Brown, Craig Levein and it hasn’t worked out for any of them.
“The chopping and changing, I’m not sure it’s a great idea. But that’s just my crappy opinion.
“There is a lot of analysis afterwards and it’s feast or famine at times. I know how disappointed Gordon will be because I know him well enough.
“After the Slovakia game he was a tactical genius. After Slovenia – which was a decent result in isolation and they were the only team to score there – people wanted him out. You have to look at the campaign over every game. They didn’t start the group well, we know that.
“But they’re undefeated in a year and there has been significant progress – in results and certain individuals as well.”
Strachan was mocked by some for blaming a genetic disadvantage after Sunday’s 2-2 draw in Ljubljana sealed our World Cup fate.
But Lennon, who pointed to the fact the likes of Wales and Holland failed to qualify while Northern Ireland and the Republic still have to negotiate the play-offs, added: “I understand the point he was trying to make about genetics.
“He was more talking about the physicality of the Scottish players. Do Scotland have enough athletes? Do Scotland have a dominant centre-half like a Shane Duffy or Virgil van Dijk?
“There doesn’t seem to be a conveyor belt of those coming through. But there are a lot of good things, particularly over the last year which was very impressive.
“There was a style of play, an identity to the team and results as well.”
The hunt now begins for a new Scotland boss but on being quoted by some bookies the Easter Road gaffer said: “Forget it, forget that.
“I’m too young and too handsome for all that! Wait until I’m old. It doesn’t appeal to me down the line even.
“I’m still trying to forge a career in club management and enjoying what I’m doing here. It doesn’t float my boat. I would miss the day-to-day stuff. I have enough of a job trying to fill my time here. A job with three-month sabbaticals? I might go missing!”