McLeish: My only goal is to get Scots to a finals
Eck’s travelled 14,000 miles across world and back again for FOUR SHOTS at goal in TWO defeats but at least this Azteca clash highlighted fringe men who will not remain
ALEX McLEISH doesn’t mind being branded a loser if Scotland finally make a return to the major stages of world football.
The national boss is unperturbed at a record of three defeats from his first four matches after completing their controversial tour with a 1-0 defeat in Mexico.
McLeish is in no rush to repeat
THE Mexicans battered Scotland like a pinata at a birthday party.
Alex McLeish was hardly likely to step forward and also beat his players with a big stick.
If there were flaws in much of the assessment of his players and their performance in the Azteca it was out of a desire to protect a group who have proved themselves solid professionals.
Unfortunately, for many of them, the last 12 days have also served to underline their standing as fringe performers and loyal club men soon to return to their previous position on the outside looking in.
They gave of their bodies, their time and their energy but couldn’t pack sufficient quality in their suitcases to suggest they’ll be playing on stages like this too often in future for the national team.
For long spells, particularly in the first half, the game represented a damning indictment of Premiership football and coaching standards at all levels as the age old failing of a lack of grace under pressure was brutally exposed by the slick passing, movement and superior technique of the Mexicans.
McLeish disagrees but the Scots could not make or take a pass in tight areas and settled for lumping it long more in hope than expectation, utter folly at such altitude when even a 10-yard sprint leaves top athletes gasping for air.
The only gifts on offer more cheaply than Scottish possession were the fake Mexican shirts being sold outside this awesome arena for seven quid a pop.
Several stood tall under the onslaught, not least Scott McKenna, named skipper on the morning of the match at the age of 21 and lining up to be the best defensive prospect out of Aberdeen since McLeish himself.
To his right, Stephen O’Donnell has enhanced his reputation over the last two games, maybe not as a starter but certainly as someone who can be trusted to revel and not to flinch when set a challenge.
Dylan McGeouch was swamped at times by a green army of Mexican midfielders but has a deft touch and positional awareness that will be better exploited in among the regulars who were missing on this tour.
Up front Johnny Russell had an unsettling opening but soon added pace and penetration in wide areas and his cross for Oli McBurnie, that saw the striker’s header bounce off the post, was the best Scottish move of the match.
McBurnie is among a group that includes Jack Hendry, Ryan Christie and Callum Paterson who remain works in progress.
Christie, played in an unfamiliar role wide left as McLeish was forced to mend and make do, had something of a stinker and his slipshod possession only piled the pressure on Graeme Shinnie behind him at full-back.
Hendry was caught following the ball and not the man as Giovani dos Santos stroked the opener in 13 minutes and was pulled all over the place by the movement of the Mexican frontline.
Paterson was peripheral in the middle of the park and so was Kenny McLean who may find caps harder to come by in future, along with Shinnie, Jordan Archer and Lewis Stevenson.
For players such as Chris Cadden and Lewis Morgan, who performed without fear from the bench in both matches, this trip may prove a vital education for an extended international career that is most likely to blossom in the medium term.
McLeish said: “By and large the defence has played well. We have to get a bit of luck and we have to be more potent at the other end. We have to believe in ourselves in terms of passing of the ball.
“They were cut out a couple of times but have to persevere with this type of football. Scotland is labelled as a team that just lumps it up the pitch so we have to
“We encourage them to pass it and not just lump it up the pitch. There are times when you are put under so much pressure that can happen but I was proud against Mexico as they tried to pass it. get away from that. There are times to do it but there are times to pass.”
McLeish handed Jon McLaughlin and Scott Bain a half each and both made some fine stops, although saves they would have been expected to make, with the woodwork also sparing blushes on a couple of occasions.
If anything the Mexicans were guilty of showboating in this World Cup warm-up and wanted to walk the ball into the net, much to the disgust of their fans who pelted the pitch with cups of beer on the final whistle.
They scorned at least six gilt-edged chances and O’Donnell and Charlie Mulgrew came to the rescue in the second half with clearances on the line, while a linesman’s flag also denied Oribe Peralta a second. That Mexico didn’t win by more was down to their own self-indulgence but McKenna moved heaven and earth to ensure the scoreline was respectable with a mature performance from the centre of defence that belied his relative youth. McLeish said: “He was burst at the end. He gave so much. He is a natural leader coming from the back and was named captain on merit. “Russell had a smashing game and big O’Donnell has had a meteoric rise now Stevie Clarke has coached and trained him at Kilmarnock. Stevenson did well against Peru and Shinnie is a warrior, as he’s shown throughout his Aberdeen career. The two keepers also did very well. “It was amazing for this group of players to come to the Azteca and stand up to it. These guys deserve enormous credit for walking on to that pitch and standing tall and proud. They’ve done their careers no harm at all.”