Scotland

Gordon Strachan backed by board to continue as Scotland manager

By Danielle Joynson, Staff Reporter | 17 November 2016

Gordon Strachan is backed by his bosses to continue on as Scotland manager, despite winning just one of their four World Cup qualifiers.

The Scottish FA has announced that Gordon Strachan will remain as manager of Scotland following a disappointing run in the nation's World Cup qualifying campaign.

Questions have been raised over Strachan's position after he guided the team to just one win in their last four qualifiers.

Since beating Malta 5-1 in September, Scotland have recorded a draw with Lithuania, a defeat to Slovakia and a 3-0 loss to major rivals England.

After carrying out a review, the Scottish FA has opted to keep Strachan at the helm.

Scottish FA chief executive Stewart Regan said in a statement: "The board have considered the team's performance since the start of the campaign and subsequently discussed the disappointing points total after four matches.

"Gordon shared the disappointment of the board and, of course, the fans. He is adamant, however, that we can recover the position and believes a play-off place still to be attainable.

"The board are convinced that he still has the hunger for this challenge and we have four home qualifiers in 2017 to rejuvenate our campaign. We support Gordon unanimously in improving our qualification prospects."

Strachan added: "We were all extremely disappointed with the result on Friday night but having reflected on our performance, I still believe we can get ourselves back into contention in the group.

"There are still 18 points to play for and the players, the staff and I, as in previous games, will give everything we have to turn things around. I have said consistently that our fans deserve success and a return to a major tournament finals.

"Although we have had a difficult start to the campaign, I firmly believe that this group of players, together with our supporters, can maximise our chances of a playoff place, starting with the home match against Slovenia in March."

Scotland are currently second from bottom in Group F, six points adrift of table-toppers England.