We’ve evolved throug Robertson and Tierne – with a little help from Craig Brown
SAYS ALEX McLEISH
Alex McLeish cheerfully admits he is going back to the future in a bid to get Scotland to a major Finals once more. As national coach, the 59-year-old shoulders the responsibility for the country’s desire to end a wretched run stretching all the way back to the 1998 World Cup. He at least knows he doesn’t lack support, with his predecessors in the role all available at the end of the phone to lend help where they can. The similarity of the 3-5-2 tactics used in the Nations League win over Albania to the defence-first strategy championed by Craig Brown in the run to France ’98 was no coincidence. As he looked ahead to Thursday’s tie against Israel in Haifa, McLeish revealed: “I actually spoke to Craig a couple of months ago, and I said it was very likely we would play similar to him. “We spoke about some of the issues when you have to make a game tighter, and there were some tactics going back and forth between us. “Basically, the current system evolved because of some of the great players we have, like Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney. “I just thought: ‘Why not?’. “The 3-5-2 formation has come into vogue again. Keeping up with the game at the top level, you see the trend is there. “Antonio Conte made it work at Chelsea after his poor start with 4-4-2, and obviously it was one of the things to take from the World Cup. “We also took inspiration from the Auld Enemy when Gareth Southgate moved Kyle Walker to centre-back to accommodate two really good players (Walker and Kieran Trippier) into the same team. “We feel that we can maybe adjust the system as well, and play 3-4-3 the way the Belgians played against us. “That’s worked for them – though they are helped by the fact they have world-class players. “There’s also variations within that. “Right now, the defensive side is the three, but we can go to a four at any moment. We have to prepare the players for it tactically, and let them know where they can adjust in certain systems. “If we play two in central midfield, the two need to dovetail so we don’t leave gaps.” Central midfield is an area of the team which has been occupying McLeish’s mind a great deal, with the retirement from the international game of Scott Brown earlier in the year having robbed him of the services of one of the country’s canniest competitors. “Scott has tremendous experience and you lose the nous of him in that role,” he continued. “We went with big Kevin McDonald of Fulham. I’ve seen a lot of him over the last few years, and he’s done well. “Maybe you can grow into that role, and there are one or two others who could play it. But there will be times we can also look at 3-4-3. “If we play the three in midfield, and you have that central hub, then at the moment Kevin is the most experienced for the position. “Ryan Jack can fill that role, as can one or two others, but losing Scott has been a blow. “I could see his reasons, to be fair. “When I spoke to him, he said he felt as it was he could only give threequarters of his best to Scotland, and three-quarters of his best to Celtic. “That wasn’t enough for him, and he had to be loyal to the guys who pay his wages.” It is the way of football that so often the easing out of veterans goes hand in hand with the emergence of bright new talents. McLeish’s enthusiasm for the 6ft 4in tall Manchester United midfielder, Scott McTominay, is clear for all to see. “Scott’s not been playing regularly and we’d love him to play,” said McLeish. “One or two of the boys are not getting their game time right now, and McTominay is in a transitional period at United. “He actually did play against West Ham last weekend – but at centre-back. “Someone said to me a few months back that they thought he might eventually be used there. “By all accounts he played well, and used the ball well, in what was a crash course for him. “I don’t know how many sessions Jose Mourinho would have done with him in that system, but it’s hard to get it correct immediately and you have to work on it. “Jose is trying to get things to click. He’s an amazing manager and you’d think that those players would click. “In terms of ourselves, it is food for thought because Scott is a good size, which is a big factor in terms of the aerial stuff. He is also quick, and can get quicker still.” The Scotland manager is himself the perfect example of the value to a side of having height in key areas. When Scotland beat Thursday’s opposition in Israel en route to the 1982 World Cup Finals, the current boss was a player able to make a towering contribution at both ends of the park. “We were going well in the campaign (Scotland finished top of the group and were only squeezed out at the Finals themselves on goal difference), and were meant to thrash the Israelis. “In the end, though, it was a tough game, and we only edged it 1-0 – with Kenny Dalglish scoring the winner from a McLeish flick-on! “This match reminds me a lot of that trip because they were struggling then and, having lost their first Nations League game against Albania, I think will they need to go for it. “I saw their coach, Andy Herzog, a couple of weeks ago at the FIFA conference, and they are going through a period of building a system. “Their 3-0 loss in the friendly against Northern Ireland last month looks like a drubbing, but they have a couple of dangerous characters in their team. “They have two centre-forwards – Moanes Dabour who plays with Red Bull Salzburg and Tomer Hemed, who has been at a good level over the last few years and is currently on loan at QPR from Brighton.
Scott Brown has tremendous experience and you lose the nous of him in that midfield role
“They played two up against Northern Ireland, and Dabour had chances but sclaffed a shot which would have made a difference. “But their build-up play was good. In addition, they have explosive wing-backs, who go really high. “They are working hard on the system, and I’ll be preparing the lads for a tough game. It won’t be a walkover – there is no chance of that at all. “I met Michael O’Neill (the Northern Ireland manager), and he gave me a a rundown on them, and I’m going to seek more analysis from the Irish lads ahead of the game. “At the same time, we will go there with confidence following our performance against Albania.” For all McLeish’s confidence, Tartan Army footsoliders – fatigued from previous campaigns in which disappointment is all too often doled out in games in far-flung outposts Scotland are expected to win – will be forgiven for curbing their enthusiasm, for the moment at least. “We do have to show we have the character to go there and win,” said McLeish. “That’s where we need to build up our mentality, in terms of going away from home and having the balls to go to the Israels and Georgias of the world and take control of the game. “It’s never easy, and Israel’s recent results show they lost narrowly to Italy. “When they play the bigger teams, they only lose 1-0 here and there. “They have a new coach implementing his style but I’m not saying that’s the only thing that has blighted us. “Gordon had a team playing well and I enjoyed the games - but then we had one slip. “That damaged our chances and hopes and that’s what we are trying to eradicate. “In the end, it does often come down to desire. 100%. A lot of it is old-school stuff. “There has to be intelligence there, but you saw David Silva scoring against Hoffenheim the other night. “He read the ball well, and he sees pictures ahead of everyone else. “But the way he sprinted in to make it an opportunity was down to his desire.”