The storm clouds are gathering around Scotland manager Craig Levein. Adam Bate discusses the reasons for the gloomy outlook and what the manager must do to brighten the mood.
Wednesday 12 September 2012 21:54, UK
Adam Bate discusses the problems facing Craig Levein and how he must resolve them urgently.
"We are very positive about what we are doing," said Craig Levein, doing his best Steve Kean impression at the weekend. "What's important to me is that there is an overwhelming feeling within the country about the positivity of our national team. We are fighting negativity at times when there is no reason for that." Even after Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Macedonia he was undaunted. "I feel that this job was always going to be difficult but things are going reasonably well," he declared. You have to admire Levein's steadfast refusal to be bowed by events on the pitch. It's two matches played and two Hampden Park draws for his Scotland side. Home games against Serbia and Macedonia were far from easy fixtures, but in a group that includes Croatia and Belgium it's tempting to conclude that as many as six of Scotland's remaining eight games will be tougher than the two they've already played. The SFA will not be booking those Rio hotels for 2014 just yet. How much of this can be blamed on Levein is debatable. What is beyond doubt is that the former Hearts boss risks accusations of being deluded in his insistence that he retains supporters' backing. A crowd of under 33,000 for Tuesday's fixture was the lowest at Hampden for a competitive international in over a decade and his team have been booed off twice in a week. The mood is gloomy and the perception is that the manager is doomed. World Cup qualification may be beyond any boss but where Levein is surely culpable is in failing to get the best out of those players that are at his disposal. Scotland have won just three competitive games in his three years in charge - and two of those were against Liechtenstein. Charlie Adam, Steven Naismith and Robert Snodgrass were axed after the weekend, hinting at uncertainty over selection. And then there's the small matter of Steven Fletcher. The £12million Sunderland striker has not featured for Scotland since declaring himself unavailable - via text message - for a friendly against Northern Ireland in February 2011. The 25-year-old was apparently unhappy at being left on the bench by Levein. It's the sort of incident that the manager would have hoped could have just gone away but Fletcher's consistent form at Premier League level has only served to make it an ongoing issue.