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Scotland: Gordon Strachan leaves his position as national manager

Last updated on .From the section Footballcomments736

Scotland manager Gordon Strachan
Gordon Strachan was appointed Scotland manager in January 2013

Gordon Strachan has left his position as Scotland manager by "mutual consent", four days after the team failed to qualify for the World Cup.

The decision, taken in conjunction with the board of the Scottish Football Association, means 60-year-old Strachan leaves a job he took in January 2013.

Assistant Mark McGhee also departs.

"On behalf of the board I would like to thank Gordon for his excellent service to the national team," said Scottish FA chief executive Stewart Regan.

Strachan succeeded Craig Levein in the role, initially to oversee the end of the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Scotland's attempt to qualify for Euro 2016 began brightly but they ultimately fell short of reaching the finals in France.

Strachan and the SFA board agreed he would stay on to lead Scotland in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, but a 2-2 draw in Slovenia on Sunday ended their hopes of finishing second in Group F and reaching the play-offs.

"I said on my first day as Scotland manager that it was the proudest moment of my career and that I wanted to put a smile back on the nation's face again," Strachan said.

"I share the profound disappointment at missing out on the play-offs, especially having worked so hard to fight our way back into contention.

"The players should receive immense credit for that resilience in coming back from a difficult start and I would like to thank each and every player who has come in to represent their country."

Scotland: I'm very surprised Strachan has decided to leave - Gordon Smith

Strachan said he and the players had shared "some magical moments" and the memories "will live with me for ever".

He added: "Of course, what made those moments special was the unwavering support of our fans.

"Through highs and lows you have stayed with the team and my biggest regret is not being able to provide the finals tournament you deserve.

"I would like to thank the board, the backroom staff and everyone at the Scottish FA for the help and support they have given me as national coach. It has been a real privilege."

The SFA board met at Hampden on Thursday to discuss the position of Strachan, whose contract was due to end next month. They will now begin the search for a successor.

"I know how disappointed he was that we couldn't secure a play-off place but to come so close was a tribute to the belief he instilled in his squad," Regan said.

"After almost five years the board felt it was time for a new direction to prepare for the Uefa Euro 2020 qualifying campaign and also the forthcoming Uefa Nations League.

"We are grateful to both Gordon and Mark for their efforts and wish them the best of luck in the future."

Scottish FA chief executive Stewart Regan, former Scotland manager Gordon Strachan, and SFA president Alan McRae
Scottish FA chief executive Stewart Regan, left, and president Alan McRae, right, were part of the board that discussed Gordon Strachan's future

Analysis - 'There was only ever going to be one outcome'

BBC Scotland senior football reporter Chris McLaughlin

There will be disagreements about the decision but few would argue that the news came as much of a shock. The SFA could not be seen to be rewarding failure and as the players trudged off the pitch in Ljubljana. It felt like the end, not only for their world cup chances, but for the manager.

He had come close to walking away in the past and the speed of today's decision was most likely aided by a reluctance from the man himself to carry on. The players loved him, the media tolerated him and the fans were split down the middle but ultimately the results dictated he couldn't carry on.

Yes, performances improved but ultimately it was two campaigns and two failures. There was only ever going to be one outcome.

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736 comments

  • Comment posted by Araucaria, at 15:04 12 Oct 2017

    Don't understand this, Scotland narrowly failed to qualify for the WC in the very last round of matches. He's popular with the players. Seems like he's done as well as if not better than could be asked.

  • Comment posted by strazkosan, at 15:02 12 Oct 2017

    "Two failed campaigns."
    Does Scotland have a comparable number of registered football players to major nations? No. Clubs regularly playing in the European competitions? No. Players starting for clubs playing in the European competitions? No.

    Third place in the group is quite a realistic achievement then.

  • Comment posted by Gr8Whyte, at 15:06 12 Oct 2017

    Not sure anyone else couldn't have done much better with such an average bunch of players.

  • Comment posted by iain1977, at 15:08 12 Oct 2017

    It looked like progress was being made , now back to square one .

  • Comment posted by Cobadera, at 15:02 12 Oct 2017

    It'll be interesting to see who comes in but I thought Strachan was a good fit.

  • Comment posted by HardBoiledEgg, at 15:07 12 Oct 2017

    First job is to ditch the pink shirts!

  • Comment posted by Thebigmac, at 15:09 12 Oct 2017

    I liked Gordon strachan, wish he had stayed. He had Scotland heading in the right direction.

  • Comment posted by Bobby Shine-box, at 15:17 12 Oct 2017

    Hard to blame Strachan really - he did his best with the players available. Southgate has got far more players to pick from and we are still useless as well (although we managed to quality in a very easy group). .

  • Comment posted by User0754683303, at 15:01 12 Oct 2017

    Thanks Gordie for your service, you had a thankless task with the players you had.

  • Comment posted by Badger, at 15:03 12 Oct 2017

    Moyes would be a backward step.

  • Comment posted by David from Scotland, at 15:05 12 Oct 2017

    And so it will move on with another "x is the person to guide us to success".
    Nonsense.
    Whole lot needs cleared out. SFA board, SPFL board, the lot. Neither are fit for purpose.
    One single Scottish Football Federation in charge of all football in Scotland. Start with reworking kids football and plan for 10-15 years in future.
    Currently, Scottish football is dead in the water.

  • Comment posted by philmcmenemy, at 16:29 12 Oct 2017

    This isn't difficult, to make Scottish football better follow these two steps:
    1. Cancel your Sky subscription
    2. Go support and get involved at your local club

    That's it.
    Simple.

  • Comment posted by Am_I_a_sceptic, at 15:24 12 Oct 2017

    The demise of the Scotland team is not dissimilar to England’s problems. The root cause of both has been the formation of the Premier League that has seen too many foreign players displacing home grown players from the top tier. In my youth every Div 1 team has a smattering if Scots and English players in them. Now you can see a premier team with no home nation players in the starting 11.

  • Comment posted by Vilyem Hize, at 15:14 12 Oct 2017

    David Moyes scotland job interview:

    "Where do you see us in 4 years?" "Don't know, you'll have sacked me by then"

  • Comment posted by peter_sym, at 15:56 12 Oct 2017

    I'm 40 this year. Last time I saw Scotland in an international I was an undergraduate student. If you're not qualifying for 20 years the fault isn't one individual managers.

    The individual decent Scottish players are scattered across the globe. They rarely play together or against each other. It makes building a team impossible. At least England players mostly play in the same domestic league.

  • Comment posted by User0239143340, at 16:32 12 Oct 2017

    Lets be blunt, Gordon was not the reason we have not qualified for the worlld cup, he made have made mistakes, we all do.

    It's the clowns at the top of the game who should hang their heads in shame. they have presided over a shambles for twenty years!

    Under Ernie Walker we qualified for 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986 and 1990 world cups, '5' in a row.

    Lets get rid of the deadwoood in SFA and SPL!

  • Comment posted by Jack, at 15:22 12 Oct 2017

    As avery proud Irishman I always feel for the Scots on qualifying. You always seem to go out on the last kick of the last game. Heart-breaking. I have a fondness for the Scots (engaged to one) and would love to see them qualify.

  • Comment posted by NickC, at 15:04 12 Oct 2017

    Can we give em Southgate on a free?

  • Comment posted by footyfan94, at 15:27 12 Oct 2017

    Can't blame the manager for our struggles. Only players we have who play every week in the EPL are Fletcher, Morrison and possibly Robertson when he breaks through at Liverpool. And the only player outside of those 3 who has the ability to play in the EPL and be a top player is Tierney. I also feel there is not a manager out there who would be willing to manage the national side who'd do better

  • Comment posted by donpittodrie, at 16:11 12 Oct 2017

    Anyone can lose. There's nothing undignified about that. Wearing shocking pink shirts whilst doing it though - that's another matter. When did shocking pink become Scotland's home colour?

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