McLEISH PLANS TO FIGHT ON
But McLeish vows to fight on and swats aside questions about his future after defeat Scots boss admits ‘poor performance’ but says he is still trying to ‘perfect things’
ALEX McLEISH last night vowed to battle on as national team manager after Scotland’s Euro 2020 qualifying campaign got off to a nightmare start in Kazakhstan.
A humiliating 3-0 defeat to the nation rated 117th in the FIFA world rankings piled the pressure back on McLeish’s shoulders just months after the Scots boss secured a Nations League play-off place.
Kazakhstan failed to taste victory in any of their recent World Cup qualifiers, winning just one of their last 16 competitive outings — against minnows Andorra — before taking the Scots apart.
The national team now fly to San Marino for Sunday’s second leg of the Euro 2020 double-header, with McLeish batting away questions over his future.
Bookies have slashed odds on him being sacked — and, bizarrely, the man he replaced, Gordon Strachan, is a frontrunner to make a sensational return. There was also speculation last night that one more embarrassing defeat and even McLeish’s supporters within the SFA would feel compelled to act.
A dejected and dispirited McLeish, however, vowed to fight on.
‘I will just continue to do my job,’ he insisted when asked about his future. ‘Suffice to say I’m not going to get drawn into that question.
‘It was a poor performance on the night. We tried to tighten up on certain things we looked at in the previous games where we won with two really good performances.
‘We’re still trying to perfect things, a lot of young guys plying their trades with first caps and early caps, and we’ve lost a few players. We never reacted to the two goals.’
Despite scoring just seven home goals in their last three qualifying campaigns, the Kazakhs streaked into a 2-0 lead after just ten minutes.
Robbed of captain Andrew Robertson and Celtic’s Kieran Tierney in the hours before the game, an inexperienced defence, featuring Graeme Shinnie as a makeshift left-back, were badly exposed.
The bad news kept coming last night with confirmation that Tierney will miss out again on Sunday after failing to recover from a pelvic problem.
‘Getting balls played inside us was something we emphasised to the players — but we never actually saw it through in reality,’ said McLeish.
‘It could have been prevented, with better positioning. But it never happened.
‘We’re disappointed at losing. Their three finishes were pretty amazing but it was a poor night for us defensively and I say that as a team.’
In an abject performance, Scotland were barely seen as an attacking threat. Stuart Armstrong’s strike on goal in 55 minutes was the only save Kazakhstan’s keeper had to make.
Asked if the artificial surface was a factor, McLeish said: ‘I think we played a little bit slow at times. We did emphasise the need to play faster and take as few touches as possible. I think we ran with the ball too much and never passed it swiftly enough if we’re talking technical terms.
‘Kazakhstan were first to the second balls. We never did what is probably a famous trait for British teams: getting second balls.’
McLeish reacted to a reported spat on the touchline between Callum McGregor and coach James McFadden as the captain remonstrated with substitute Scott McTominay. The Manchester United man had raced straight up the tunnel at full-time when McGregor wanted him to acknowledge the 600-strong Scotland support at the final whistle.
The national team boss insisted McTominay was suffering the effects of a stomach upset but it added to the sense of chaos which surrounded Scotland.
‘There is a lot of inexperience in the squad. We have introduced a few new names in the last year or so and it’s a process where it can take time but I know we don’t have any time,’ said McLeish.
‘I want to get these lads playing to the level that we demand on the international scene but it’s not easy for players to come from no experience straight into the international team.
‘On the night, Kazakhstan certainly played extremely well but we didn’t do ourselves justice as regards what I feel these players can give.
‘Give credit to Kazakhstan. They were very sharp, when they scored the first couple of goals. We had one chance before they scored and I thought it was looking quite lively for us. Then it was two goals in ten minutes and it was a mountain to climb after that. We never really got into gear again.’
Speaking earlier this week, McLeish had expressed a wish to see the national team through to the 2022 World Cup Finals in Qatar.
Last night, he insisted that remains his goal and he refused to sound the death knell for hopes of automatic qualification for the European finals despite the hideous start here.
‘Of course — it’s never finished until it’s finished,’ he argued. ‘We bounced back from a poor performance in Israel and that’s what we must do after this game.
‘We have other players to come back, players with more experience who have to come back to the Scotland squad.
‘Obviously, we need to have as strong a squad as we can if we’re going to be strong in qualification.’