Strachan ‘doesn’t want Scot job’

FORMER Coventry and Southampton manager Gordon Strachan has assured Berti Vogts he does not want to replace him at the Scotland helm.

Vogts has come under increasing fire after the disappointing friendly defeat by Hungary at Hampden Park last month before a creditable performance against Spain on Friday earned him some reprieve.

Ex-Scotland midfielder Strachan claimed after the Hungary game he would jump at the chance to manage his national team.

But the 47-year-old has already clarified his position with Scottish FA chief executive David Taylor and tried to contact Vogts himself before the abandoned game in Valencia.

Strachan said: "I was asked if I would like to manage Scotland, and I gave an honest answer to a question which I was not expecting.

"Of course, I would like to be asked to take the job. But only if that invitation came in three or four years because, if it came just now, it would be because we have had a bad start to our World Cup qualifying campaign.

"And, like every other Scot, I don't want to see that happen. It is a very difficult time for the national team. But we need to get behind them and hope they can get off to a good start as we don't want to miss out on any more finals.

"I believe my decision to take a break was the correct one."

Strachan is on sabbatical from the game.

The World Cup qualifier against Slovenia is being touted as the game which could ultimately decide Vogts's fate but assistant coach Tommy Burns claims it is not a do-or-die match.

Burns believes the biggest difference between the matches against Hungary and Spain was the attitude of the Scotland players.

Now he has warned them that to kick-off their World Cup qualification campaign on a high they have to be fully focused on tomorrow night's game.

Burns is aware of the dangers Slovenia possess and believes that working as a unit will be the key to success for Scotland.

Meanwhile, the Scottish FA will focus their attention on tomorrow's clash with Slovenia before deciding on any action for the game in Moldova next month.

Italy have been allowed to switch their game against the Moldovans to Chisinau over security fears about the original venue at Tiraspol, in the Transnistria region of the country.

The match had been scheduled to take place in the semi-autonomous area, where ethnic conflict has made the area unsettled.

There are security fears over the situation in Moldova, where there has been tension between Moldovans and Transnistrian separatists.

Scotland are due to play a qualifier there on October 13, but the SFA will continue to monitor the situation before requesting a change of venue.