McLeish all set for a hard summer of study in Qatar
Alex McLeish will keep himself in the heat this summer by jetting to the Middle East to take on television work.
The Scotland manager, who will fly home to the UK from Mexico today, has agreed to be a World Cup analyst.
“I will be working for beIN Sports (a spinoff of Al Jazeera) for the Finals, doing studio work for them over in Qatar,” revealed McLeish.
“It is a tournament I need to be on top of in my position as Scotland manager, and this should be the ideal way to do it.
“You are talking about watching the best players in the world, but also the systems they are used in, and how teams cope against different tactics they come up against.
“These could be some of the same sides we find ourselves up against in the Euro 2020 qualifiers, so it should be a very valuable exercise.
“It means I have a busy summer all in all, but that is fine.
“It comes with the territory, and is a part of the job I am relishing.”
The job will likely see McLeish studying the effects of VAR in detail.
Video Assistant Referee is to be used for the first time at the world game’s greatest showpiece, and there is extra intrigue with new regulations having just come into effect.
Retrospective red cards, and subsequent bans, will be applied for serious offences from now on, and referees will be able to send off players even in cases where play has carried on.
“Those are new changes to me, so it will be interesting to see the impact they have on the tournament,” said McLeish.
“Sendings-off are controversial enough just now as it is. But the idea is to get these massive moments in the game right.
“We had our experience with it on this trip and I didn’t have strong feelings when I heard that was going to happen.
“It is part of the game now, and you have to get on with it. “It’s going to be part of football’s future.” In the brief break he will get before starting on World Cup duties, McLeish will reflect on the trip to Central and South America.
“A lot of people thought the trip to Peru and Mexico was going to be a disaster, but I think it has been beneficial,” he said, referencing the raft of call-offs he had to deal with in the run up to the two friendly matches.
“We have had the chance to introduce a lot of new boys into the group.
“By and large, they have acquitted themselves well, which bodes well for the future.
“You see the enthusiasm with which they took their opportunity, and their enjoyment at playing in front of the big crowd in Peru. “You can’t buy that kind of experience. “The guys who have been back at home playing in important matches, like Andy Robertson at Liverpool and the Fulham lads Tom Cairney and Kevin Macdonald, have still to come back to us. “Then you have all the ones who rested up. “I am talking about the Celtic lads, such as Kieran Tierney, Callum McGregor and James Forrest, all of whom had long seasons at club level.
“So it should be a strong group going forward.
“We will need that too with the Nations Leagues ties to look forward to.”
NATIONS LEAGUE DATES
Scotland v Albania – September 10. Israel v Scotland – October 11. Albania v Scotland – November 17. Scotland v Israel – November 20.