Leekens is a kindred spirit for Scots boss

GEORGES Leekens had two spells in charge of his native Belgium and failed to win either of his first games in charge. He managed Algeria twice and couldn’t open either account with a win there, either.

Taking charge of Hungary for the first time last Friday, the pattern continued. A home friendly against Kazakhstan in Budapest ended in a 3-2 defeat.

Yet, one of the veterans of European coaching remains calm because he knows things will get better.

And he insists Alex McLeish will be thinking exactly the same despite starting his second spell in charge of Scotland with a dispiriting 1-0 defeat to Costa Rica last week.

‘I know the situation Alex is in because I had two spells in charge of both Belgium and Algeria, so I know what it’s like to go back,’ said 68-year-old Leekens.

‘I thought Gordon Strachan did well, but Alex will try to continue a lot of his good work while bringing in his own staff and trying to put his own stamp on the team.

‘The manager can’t change things in a few months. You need to be patient. That’s the only way to rebuild. I hope Alex McLeish will find young boys who are knocking on the door.

‘It would be a miracle if everything went as you wanted it to go in your first game. That is why we need these friendly games. I lost my first games in charge of Belgium and Algeria both times, but you just use them to learn.’

Leekens (below) was a Belgian international defender between 1975 and 1978, a period when Scots began to regard qualification for the World Cup as a birthright.

Like Scotland, Hungary are a nation with a stellar footballing past and a slightly depressing present.

Even so, the Magyars reached their first major finals in 30 years at Euro 2016 and made it to the last 16.

‘I can believe Scotland haven’t been to a major tournament for 20 years,’ added Leekens. ‘It happens to lots of nations.

‘You end up living in the past and every two years is a kick in the heart. But a fantastic generation will come along.

‘It happened with Belgium and also Tunisia, another team I managed, who are now in the World Cup. I’m very proud as I put some foundations in place.’

Leekens was Belgium’s boss when, like Scotland, they failed to progress past the first qualifying stage of the World Cup in France in 1998.

A footballing nomad for ten years, he returned to the job when a golden generation of players featuring Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Vincent Kompany were breaking through.

‘We failed to qualify for Ukraine and Poland (Euro 2012) due to a lack of experience,’ he insisted.

‘But a lot of our players moved abroad to play for big clubs and they brought the experience to the national team and they are qualifying again.

‘It was a new era and we changed a lot. I made the mistake of leaving for Club Brugge because I thought my work was done. But it’s never finished and they went to the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.’

Like McLeish, Leekens is back in the saddle at international level. Ranked 50th in the world, 18 places below Scotland, his Hungary team also feature in Group C of the Nations League. ‘I felt Hungary was a fantastic opportunity,’ said Leekens. ‘I was talking with the Hungarian FA four years ago about the possibility of taking over, but it didn’t happen. ‘This time, it was right to try to rebuild and restructure a team as that is what I have a reputation for. I won’t do it in one or two games, but I will build it up step by step. ‘We must cut out the mistakes we made at the back against Kazakhstan. We were 2-0 down after ten minutes due to individual errors.’ The home of Ferencvaros, the 22,000-seater Groupama Arena, is Hungary’s temporary base while the Ferenc Puskas Stadium undergoes reconstruction. ‘I hope the pitch will be better as it wasn’t in the best condition. We’ll water it,’ said Leekens. ‘It’s a friendly and it’s about learning as much as you can.’

“I know what it’s like for Alex to go back”