STRACHAN HAS PROVED HE IS OPEN TO CHANGE

ALWAYS keen to claim he doesn’t analyse himself, it would be fascinating to hear Gordon Strachan speak candidly about what he has learned, even aged 60, from this most remarkable World Cup campaign. Some mistakes have already been recognised. Like destroying fragile confidence in the wake of Euro 2016 failure with a friendly hammering in France and throwing in Oliver Burke when he was nowhere near ready. There are others he must accept, too. Starting with Chris Martin and Steven Fletcher ahead of Leigh Griffiths, for one, or picking Grant Hanley when his club wouldn’t. Stubbornness is seen as a Strachan trait and it is maybe a good job, too, considering Martin and Ikechi Anya, both struggling at Derby, combined to see off Slovakia. However, in many ways, Strachan has proven himself surprisingly flexible. He tore his team up at Wembley and saw improvement. He U-turned on Griffiths, building his side round a Celtic core after bringing back Scott Brown. By and large, his picks now play regularly. He has rebuilt confidence after branding Scotland ‘a nation of scared passers’. How he would revel in the joy of taking us back to a major finals. He would also be able to savour the deliciousness of slamming a custard pie into the faces of those of us who sought his removal last year. One thing is for sure. We will all be happy to lick it off. It will still taste nowhere near as sweet as a place at Russia 2018.