Strachan should just admit he blew it

THERE are people we should all feel for this Christmas. The families of the Cameron House fire victims. Toys R Us staff fretting over their jobs. People struggling to keep a roof over their heads. A wealthy football manager with bruised pride? Not so much. Earlier this week, Gordon Strachan gave his first interview since being sacked from the Scotland job. Like a teenage boy given the heave-ho by his first love, he described himself as ‘heartbroken’. The jilted John who woke one morning to see his old flame strolling hand in hand down the street with handsome Harry. The only thing missing was a violin in the background. Believe it or not, journalists have a conscience. Digging up decent men doing their very best isn’t a part of this job anyone enjoys. But, when it all goes wrong, the guilt is offset by the knowledge that a sacked football manager will never have to worry about his next mortgage payment. Football, after all, is one of the few industries which rewards failure. When managers are sacked, every penny of their contract is paid up. And there can’t be any real question that the SFA played fair by Gordon Strachan. His job was to take Scotland back to a major finals. And he didn’t fail just once. He did so twice. He argues that he started with a good run and ended with a good run and that’s more than most managers achieve. But nearly getting to a major finals doesn’t quite cut it. Nearly getting there is losing to a dodgy penalty in a qualification play-off, like Northern Ireland. Not falling short after reverting to old habits during a grim second half in Slovenia. ‘Let me say this,’ he said. ‘Whoever comes in will never get any more out of the players than I did.’ This self-confidence would be justified if Scotland had reached the Euro 2016 finals, like the Republic of Ireland. Or punched above their weight to reach the World Cup, like Iceland. The truth is that, after drawing at home against Lithuania and taking a hammering in Slovakia, they didn’t come close. Craig Levein left the Scotland job and owned up to making mistakes. It would be easier to find common ground with Gordon Strachan if he did the same.