STRACHAN’S WAY WITH WORDS

‘There were things that I liked, really liked. Things we need to work on and things you think that might not work. It’s been a good day for me.’ Strachan after winning his first match in charge against Estonia. ‘Technically, they are superior. Physically, they are superior. I don’t think anybody has a problem with it, knowing that we have to rebuild and start again.’ Following 2-0 loss to Serbia that ended our hopes of qualifying for Brazil 2014. ‘The nation has seen a group of players give as much as they can give. There’s guys in there hurting, so for me to talk about myself is wrong. They’re the priority at the moment.’ After Scotland missed out on Euro 2016 in the wake of Poland’s last-minute equaliser.

‘If anybody thinks at this moment in time I’m thinking about myself, you’re wrong. I’ve got to think about all those guys in there and they’ve been tremendous for me tonight.’ Another defeat, this time 3-0 to England at Wembley in World Cup qualifying, and a familiar theme from Strachan afterwards. ‘What we do is play scared football when we come up against big teams. We will play four or five passes, but we’re not sure if they’re going to get there. We just flick it away, hope for the best and then go: “Oh, unlucky”.’ Strachan’s appraisal from June 2016 on where it was going wrong for Scottish football. ‘Genetically, we are behind. In the last campaign, we were the second smallest, apart from Spain. We had to pick a team to combat the height and strength at set-plays. Genetically we have to work at things. Physically, we have a problem.’ Strachan after Scotland miss out on play-off following the 2-2 draw in Slovenia last Sunday.