Burley: Strachan the right man for Scotland
The former Coventry, Southampton, Celtic and Middlesbrough manager was presented to the media at Hampden yesterday after agreeing a deal with the Scottish Football Association which takes him through the 2016 European Championship qualifiers.
Burley struggled during his time in charge of Scotland and, after failing to negotiate the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup finals, he was sacked in November 2009 following a 3-0 defeat by Wales in Cardiff which left him having won just three out of 14 games.
However, he believes that with a “bit of patience and a bit of luck”, Strachan will prove his mettle in the international arena.
“It is a great appointment and it is a job he will enjoy,” the former Ipswich and Scotland defender said. “It doesn’t get much better than being a national team manager, it is a great honour.
“He knows it will be a difficult job but I think he will adapt fine.
“The task is for Scotland to qualify for major championships but there is no magic wand. You can’t change the players that much and you can’t buy players, it is not a club job where you are working with them every day. It’s about trying to get the best out of the players you have. But I think it is an excellent appointment.”
Strachan says his appointment has been a long time coming.
“It is probably 40 years in the making to get here. It is a job that I wanted to do and for a Scotsman, this is a fantastic thing.
“When I was a kid I wanted to play for Scotland and I did that.
“Then I started coaching and I thought, ‘I want to be the Scotland manager some day’, so I have achieved that with the help of a lot of people and players.”
Scotland have picked up just two points in their bid to qualify for Brazil, but Strachan rejected the suggestion that a top-two spot is out of his players’ reach.
“If we work together as a group and a set of fans I know for a fact we’ll be successful,” he added.
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