IT must remain in the realms of the hypothetical whether Scotland would have fared any better over the last decade had they appointed Graeme Souness as manager rather than George Burley.
Souness was among those interviewed for the post back in early 2008 but the Scottish Football Association chose to take a different path. Given Burley and his two successors have failed to bring to an end an absence from major tournaments that stretches back until 1998, it is probably fair to surmise that Souness could not have done much worse.
But he has made his peace with it now. “I was disappointed at the time but that is long gone,” he admitted. “It's not something I would ever be interested in again. I am no longer interested in being a football manager. I sleep at night.”
What can be safely deduced from his opinions on the state of the national team is that, were he in charge today, Souness would find himself growing increasingly agitated with the calibre of player available to him.
Echoing the comments from Gordon Strachan that he must work with a squad with limited European experience and players short of regular match practise, Souness, with the sort of candour that has made him one of the most watchable pundits on television, casts an eye over the Scotland squad and feels they are “a modest group”. Good news, though, ahead of the World Cup qualifying tie at Wembley on Friday is that he is just as scathing about the England team.
“Does it concern me that the Scotland team is full of guys from the English Championship? That's where we are,” he said. “The coaches down in England will be concerned that they don't have any main men who could go and play in the bigger teams. They've always had those guys but not anymore. It's a cycle England are in and it's a cycle we are in.
“We are a modest group. But England are a modest group as well. England, historically, have always had one or two players who would get into the Argentina team or German teams. They always had one guy who would get into any other national team.
“But England don't have that right now. Can Scotland go to Wembley and win? Yes, they can. Are they likely to do it? No, they are not. For us to go down to Wembley and win every single player will have to play out of their skin. But you can't write them off.”
A draw with Lithuania and a thumping from Slovakia have placed additional pressure on Strachan heading into this game. Souness, though, feels his former Scotland team-mate remains the best man for the job.
“I was at a dinner at Hampden a few weeks ago and I didn't detect that any sign that Gordon had lost his enthusiasm for the job,” he added. “He is a mad, passionate football man. Is he the right man for the job? I don't see anyone out there who could do any better than him. Could we get someone in to replace Gordon who would get better results with the same players? No, I don't think so. I think he has them organised. He's working with a group of players that I feel he gets the most from. We are not great at the back and we are not scoring enough goals and that's a dangerous combination to have.”
As a player Souness thrived in the matches against England, just as he would come to revel in the derbies against Celtic upon his appointment as Rangers player-manager. His record in the games against the Auld Enemy was not great with just one win in six attempts, the 1985 Rous Cup clash at Hampden, when Souness captained the side and Richard Gough scored the only goal of the game. It is a memory he rates as “right up there” in his career highlights, and insisted this is a fixture players on both sides of the border look forward to as much as any other.
“There is a misconception that Scotland are more passionate about this fixture than the English are,” he added. “That's not the case. They want to beat us every bit as much as we want to beat them. Having shared a dressing room at club level with these guys, when it came to Scotland versus England, you were desperate to beat them for the bragging rights. But, make no mistake, England wanted that as much as we did.
“I could not separate Rangers versus Celtic from Scotland versus England. I was playing against Phil Neal, who was really bitter against us. And so was Terry McDermott. They were my teammates but they used to try and kick me. But we were bitter towards them too. They unfortunately beat us more often than we beat them. Certainly the most intense game I've ever played in was the Old Firm but Scotland versus England was up there too.”
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