GORDON STRACHAN

was known for his acerbic quips. Some were funny, but they were also easy. Reporters tie themselves in knots trying to be polite after matches. Instead of asking the brutal ‘Why did you lose?’ an interviewer will try to couch it in gentler terms. ‘In what areas were the opposition better than you today?’

Strachan’s sarcastic response to that one: ‘Mainly the big green one out there’ is amusing, but unenlightening. ‘You don’t take losing lightly, do you?’ said one hapless questioner after a defeat, affecting sympathy. Strachan’s reply — ‘I don’t take stupid questions lightly, either’ — made no acknowledgement of this.

And, yes, it was a stupid question, but would he prefer the blunt version? Managers don’t seem to like that, either. Anyway, as Strachan now knows, there is a difference between a one-liner and the weighty analysis the modern game demands.

Sports discussion programmes are like the Andrew Marr show. Sexism, racism, executive pay, gambling, the rehabilitation of offenders, brain injuries, employee welfare, divisions in society, high finance, complex international law, the moral maze — be prepared to discuss it all, and without verbal missteps. Strachan thought the folks with the microphones had it easy. Now he knows.