When players step out onto the pitch, who is in control of the match from that point forward? There has to be a point where management, the fans and players recognize the coach cannot be held accountable for well-trained athletes going out and not doing the job they were trained to do. Still, there’s a tendency for the powers to be to put the pressure on coaching staffs because it’s not reasonable to fire the roster that’s not performing.
It’s looks like Scotland’s national football coach Alex McLeish is being held to the fire for Scotland’s recent performances related to qualifying for the 2020 Euro Cup. How bad is it? In the first two games of qualifying, Scotland looked lethargic and disinterested in a 3-0 loss against Kazakhstan in March followed by an equally unenthusiastic and unconvincing 2-0 win in early April over San Marino, arguably one of the world’s most inept teams. Surely, football bettors were shocked; you can click here to read more about betting and bonus.
Clearly, Scotland’s national team is underperforming. The question is would the SFA board be overreacting to fire McLeish this early in his tenure as head coach? In his first 12 games as boss of Scotland’s best, the team has a record of 5-7. That includes him leading the team to the Euro 2020 play-offs via the Nations League by finishing ahead of Israel and Albania.
The answer is due anytime as the SFA board, which comprises chief executive Ian Maxwell, president Alan McRae, vice-president Rod Petrie, SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster and fellow board members Mike Mulraney, Thomas McKeown and Ana Stewart, held its meeting at 9.30 BST on Thursday April 18.
If they do decide to sack their coach, it will be against the advice of someone who understands what Coach McLeish is facing. That individual is his one of his predecessors Craig Levein. Levein was Scotland’s national coach for three years, losing his job after Scotland got off to a poor start when going through qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.
According to Levein, “I just think it’s a mistake. I think Alex deserves a chance to carry on. That’s my personal opinion and we’ll see. I hope he stays on.”
Others expressing their opinion on the state of Scotland’s national football team and the McLeish situation include former Scotland striker Kenny Miller and former Scotland defender Gary Caldwell.
In interviews with Sportssound, Miller stated, “It’s been a month and there’s been a lot of speculation. Has he had long enough? Probably not. The campaign is not over and I’m a big fan of the players we’ve got at the moment, but they need help. We look devoid of any real idea of what they are trying to do. I’ve known Alex a long time and have a lot of respect for him, but the start of the campaign has been poor.”
Caldwell added, “Whenever we have horrendous results, we blame the manager. I’ve been part of a few of those campaigns and the Scottish FA have to look bigger than the manager and try to work out why we’ve not been to a major tournament in the last 21 years. Until we change coaching in this country, I don’t see any manager making a real difference. We need an identity about how we’re going to play.”
