Strachan: Game is as good as it has Been in years but we just don’t shout about it
Former national team manager, Gordon Strachan, believes the Scottish game is in better shape than it’s been for years – and he can barely believe that the authorities aren’t telling anyone about it.
Strachan, who also took charge of Coventry City, Southampton, Celtic and Middlesbrough, claims that the ruling bodies are selling the sport short when they should be cashing in on its achievements.
He argues that the success of Celtic and Rangers in recent years – particularly Rangers’ run to the Europa League Final this season – has sent the profile of the Premiership through the roof, and he can’t understand why the authorities don’t want to tell everyone about it.
“The top two clubs have done a great job for us in Europe to build up the coefficient. Celtic initially, and then Rangers doing even better in the last couple of seasons,” said Strachan.
“Plus the national team has done very, very well in qualifying for the Euros, and is now in with a chance of reaching the World Cup Finals through the play-offs.
“So we’re doing very well. I enjoyed the Celtic-rangers game last weekend, watching two well-matched sides go at it. We’re not doing too badly.
“We needed Rangers to get through last Thursday, and I think, after watching the way they played, they have every chance now.
“For Celtic to be six points clear of a team as good as Rangers says a lot about them.”
Yet Strachan remains perplexed that the SFA and the SPFL can’t capitalise on their achievements.
“I’m enjoying watching the football,” he said. “I have my own thoughts on how we should promote the game in Scotland, though, because the way we package it and sell it to the world isn’t exactly how I’d like it to be done.
“There are definitely better ways of generating money for us if we did the right things.
“I’ve got loads of ideas as to how we might improve that – and they’re very detailed.
“I don’t just mean
broadcasting side of the sport, either. There are all sorts of
different ways to market the sport in a better way.
“Would anyone want to listen to me? I think I might be too radical for that.
“But, never mind, because there are a lot of good things going on. They just aren’t publicised properly.
“We tend to focus on the negatives, but this is a wonderful, wonderful business to be involved in and I love it – I can’t end it.
“I’m all over the place, working with young coaches and players.
“As a matter of fact, my wife said to me: ‘You’ll need to stop this – you must be the busiest man I’ve ever seen in
semi-retirement’.
“But I do this stuff not because I have to, but because I want to do it – and that’s a great thing.”
In spite of his glass-half-full attitude, Strachan admits not everything in the garden is rosy.
“The one thing I have been worried about is the lack of
good young players coming through,” he admits.
“I was at PFA Scotland’s dinner last Sunday night and, when I looked at the shortlists for the Player of the Year awards, they were full of the more-experienced lads.
“We seem to have developed a few good youngsters in the last few years – some in England, some up here.
“There’s also Aaron Hickey at Bologna, and attracting interest from everywhere.
“How we started producing so many world-class leftbacks, I’ve no idea!
“You can be really good for your club in that position and not get near the Scotland squad because of the standard being set by Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney and Aaron.
“But I do look at the lower leagues and wonder where the good youngsters are.
“Maybe there’s just too many clubs, maybe that’s the problem?
“If we narrowed the numbers down, you could
maybe see more kids involved in smaller squads.”