PROGRESSION IS BOTTOM LINE
Scots anxious to avoid ignominy of finishing last as Mcghee insists Skopje test is crucial for national pride
FOR Scotland, the experience of propping up a qualifying group is not new. Even in better days, a sip from the wooden spoon was not unheard of. It happened once before. Not — as many would expect — during the chaotic discord of the Berti Vogts or George Burley eras. Unexpectedly, the nation’s only brush with ignominy came during a golden era for the Scottish game. Gordon Strachan and Mark McGhee were winning European trophies with Aberdeen. Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Alan Hansen were in their Liverpool pomp. Dundee United were heading for a European Cup semifinal.
None of this proved much use when it came to the final makeup of the qualifying group for the 1984 European Championship in France.
Scotland finished the runt of the litter. To date, it’s the only time in the national team’s history they have finished last in a group. For Strachan and McGhee (below), there is no real desire to sample that feeling twice.
By common consent, the Scots have improved slightly. Yet defeat to Macedonia here tomorrow night would not only shatter an impression of progress, it would also make the prospect of finishing sixth in a six team group significantly more likely.
‘ We have looked at all the i mplications and they are all psychological,’ said assistant manager McGhee as the Scots flew out of Glasgow yesterday.
‘Our coefficient would not be affected by us finishing bottom. We are going to be in pot four for the Euros, whatever happens.
‘But I think that going there and getting a positive result would help qualify the fact that we feel the last three games have represented a consistent model. Even though one result was great and two were poor in terms of the final result.
‘I think we have established a way of playing both defensively and going forward.
‘ The f ootball we play looks the same in each game and that s hould bring decent results in the end.
‘This is a game where we would hope we would start to see that.’ On a night when playmaker Goran Pandev ran the show, Macedonia were unfortunate to leave Glasgow a year ago with just one point following a 11 draw. Yet, despite Friday’s 21 home win over Wales, their results have been ropey.
Far closer to Scotland’s benchmark than recent opponents Croatia, Belgium and England, Macedonia will offer a more realistic gauge of just how much progress Strachan’s team have made.
‘In the last three games, we have played top teams,’ McGhee acknowledged. ‘ Two of them might have ambitions to win the World Cup.
‘This one is back to our own level and we would hope to measure ourselves against this level of opposition more than any of the last three rivals.’
The gulf in class between the Scots and Belgium was demoralising, but not s urprising. Strachan’s team prevented an embarrassment and, in the absence of star striker Steven Fletcher, James Morrison and others, a 20 defeat was the best a pragmatist might have expected.
The attacking threat may be sporadic but, under Strachan, the Scots have become harder to beat. They are organised, they play on the break and they give their all.
Macedonia is the kind of venue where all of the above just might pay dividends.
‘Ultimately, we will only prove ourselves as a team and a management team if we qualify for the next tournament,’ McGhee admitted. ‘But, whatever happens in Macedonia, we have to find reassurance that what we have seen in the last three games is real.
‘We have a system that suits us a little bit better — but we can’t look much further ahead than this game. We will go to Macedonia with the players we have at our disposal and do the best we can on the same basis we have done in the last three games.’
A thirdplace finish is not yet impossible. But the more immediate target for Scotland is obvious.
‘As a nation, I think that our embarrassment at finishing bottom would be tempered if we got a result (in Macedonia) and we can all see that the progress is proven. ‘We could then take it on the chin and move on to the next competition,’ said McGhee. ‘ We don’t have a right not to finish bottom of a group — we have to earn that. Macedonia, Serbia and ourselves are much of a muchness. To finish above bottom would be an achievement in itself, taking that into account.’ Unable to sleep in the
early hours of Saturday, McGhee watched a 5am rerun of Macedonia’s win over the Welsh. A game of needle and precious little finesse, it was a foretaste of what is likely to unfold tomorrow night on a bumpy, agricultural playing surface.
‘The game on Friday was scrappy and the pitch had a lot to do with that,’ he noted. ‘But we are going there to play on that pitch, so we can’t let that be an excuse or a factor that affects us. The only thing we might have to do is go a little bit long at times because of the pitch.’
Injuries to Jordan Rhodes and Charlie Adam — plus t he suspension of Robert Snodgrass — further weaken a team already missing James Morrison, Allan McGregor, the two Fletchers (Steven and Darren), Gary Caldwell and the newlyretired Kenny Miller. Who plays centreforward has now replaced central defence as the main area of concern.
‘We have Leigh Griffiths, Ross McCormack and Jamie Mackie as the only three outandout strikers,’ added McGhee. ‘So we know we need a bit of strength in that area. We know we need more at the back and some help there. But, with the group we have at the moment and the ones who are missing, we think more improvement can come.’
Embracing the positives, McGhee believes Morrison, Snodgrass, Russell Martin, Shaun Maloney and James McArthur are now better players than at the beginning of the campaign. Ditto Charlie Mulgrew, a player whose inclusion in central midfield is an area of contention for Celtic fans — but almost a necessity for Scotland.
‘For me, on Friday night, Charlie played the way he should be able to play. He has that much ability.’
Asked if midfield is where Mulgrew’s future lies, McGhee said: ‘After the other night, I would say: “Yes”.
‘If he went in against Belgium — which I think he did — with relish, saying: “I would love to prove I can play in here”, then I think we could have a player.’
Mulgrew is no Souness. And yet, the lessons of 1983 show this much. Where Scotland is concerned, even great players offer no indemnity against embarrassment.