Rodgers has Scot to get lot of credit
SLOVAKIA fall guy Martin Skrtel reckons Brendan Rodgers has played a part in Scotland’s World Cup fightback.
The ex-Liverpool defender starred for the Celtic boss at Anfield and he pointed to the Parkhead influence in the national team after the Scots sank his side following his late own goal.
Scott Brown and Stuart Armstrong sat it out but have been key men in the revival while Craig Gordon, Kieran Tierney, Leigh Griffiths and James Forrest all starred on Thursday.
Skrtel said: “Brendan is a great manager. I played with him for two or three seasons at Liverpool. I am not surprised he is doing a great job there.
“It was after our game in Trnava that Scotland changed a lot, with more players in from Celtic.
“And they started playing quite well. We knew before the game it was going to be difficult.”
Skrtel admitted Scotland are now in pole position going into the final game but his side are out to take maximum points against Malta and hope Slovenia do them a turn.
He said: “It won’t be easy for Scotland in Slovenia but they have the advantage now. We just have to win against Malta then wait for the result to come in.”
The defender insisted the red card shown to Robert Mak was the turning point at Hampden.
There wasn’t much love from the Slovaks for ref Milorad Mazic after the Serb sent Mak packing with two quick yellow cards, the second for a dive in the box.
Skrtel has previous with the whistler and said: “It was harsh. The ref decided to give him a second yellow but I don’t agree with it.
“The first game against England that we played, I got sent off. It was a cruel way for it to end for us – and me in particular.”