Summary
IN THE foreword to Alex McLeish's 1988 autobiography, then Scotland manager Andy Roxburgh stated that "God will judge us not by our material gains but by our battle scars" and that the "patriot" of an Aberdeen defender "has fought many battles; most of them successful, all of them praiseworthy." It has remained true for McLeish in the two decades since. Yet, having this week been confirmed as the youngest Scotland manager since Roxburgh, the 48- year-old has been pitched into a battle it is almost impossible to see how he can win.
Scotland may sit atop their Euro 2008 section, courtesy of a freak victory over France. Yet, ahead of an awkward double-header that will see McLeish begin his reign against Georgia at Hampden on March 24 before travelling to Italy four days later, the prospects of them sealing one of two qualifying berth remains slim. Established Scotland match-winners are now no rarer a breed than would have been the case had the coaching team still been Walter Smith, Ally McCoist and Tommy Burns. McLeish, and his backroom staff Andy Watson and Roy Aitken, could become the fall guys for inevitable failure, just as McLeish proved to be in the last season of his four-and-a-half years at Rangers.See the full content of this document
Extract
Mcleish Needs Balance to Avoid Being a Fall Guy
Even if a qualifying miracle were conjured up, McLeish would be perceived as building on the foundations of others - again, similar to his five trophy successes in 18 mont...
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