Gordon Strachan has insisted that he has yet to consider whether he will stay on as Scotland manager after seeing his side finish third in their World Cup qualifying group.
The Tartan Army travelled to the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana in their numbers for Sunday evening's final group-stage fixture, only to see their side held to a 2-2 draw.
That result, coupled with a 3-0 win for Slovakia over minnows Malta elsewhere, ensured that Scotland's wait for an appearance at a major competition goes on for another few years at least.
After a second successive qualifying campaign failure under his watch, Strachan says that nobody is feeling the pain more than his dejected players.
"At this moment, I am the last person thinking about that," he told Sky Sports News when probed about his future as manager. "I have got to look after the players. We are hurting, no one is hurting like the players, it's impossible. The fans can't hurt like that, I can't hurt. There shouldn't be any talk about what I'm thinking or what I'm doing at this moment in time because I am just looking after them.
"There's obviously disappointment but my disappointment is nothing compared to the players. I don't think I've seen a group of players that exhausted at that end of the game. But as I say to them, you can go away and be really proud of yourselves, you push yourself to maybe places some of them didn't think they could actually go, because we were against a physically stronger side, a side that's never let a goal in here.
"Hopefully nobody in sport will have to feel like these guys are feeling at the moment. Sometimes in life you have to hurt badly before you achieve things. They can be really proud of themselves and it is an honour to be their coach. I have been lucky enough to achieve things with other groups of lads but these have achieved as much as anybody. I have never been in a dressing room as silent as that. That was a real hurting silent. I really have to thank them for the effort they have put in."
Strachan, who put his side's latest disappointment down to genetics, signed his most recent two-year contract in 2015.
Daniel Lewis
