Instead, the Stoke midfielder says the finger of blame for Thursday's shock 3-0 loss should be pointed at the players, who collapsed without a fight against a side ranked 117th in the world at the Astana Arena.

"They capitulated too easily," Adam told BBC Radio 5 Live. "It's an inexperienced group and I didn't see anyone pulling each other together.

"You lose two goals quickly and need to regroup. You need to have leaders."

He added: "I don't think it's a sacking offence for McLeish. He did his job by getting Scotland to the Nations League play-off.

"There's a reason these type of nights happen and it was down to players not imposing themselves on the opposition.

"I like Alex as a manager and person and the players let him down. They need to have a look at themselves."

Scotland were hit by a raft of call-offs in the build-up to their opening Euro 2020 qualifier.

Skipper Andy Robertson was unable to play because of a dental issue while Celtic's Kieran Tierney pulled out with a groin complaint.

That left McLeish with Graeme Shinnie as his next option at left-back, but it proved to be a nightmare for the Aberdeen man as he was largely culpable for all three goals.

Adam said: "There's got be an overhaul of the quality of player in the squad. There has to be better players out there than some of these guys.

"International level is a step up and you saw the two defenders [Shinnie and Aberdeen team-mate Scott McKenna]. They play in the same team but made basic mistakes and were punished."

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