GEORGE BURLEY owned up to being nervous before his inaugural match as Scotland manager, not an emotion that would readily be admitted to by the likes of Mourinho and Capello, or Smith and McLeish for that matter.
Most international managers go for the "all knowing, all seeing, I'm in complete control of everything" image, but George obviously has his own more down-to earth approach, which has served him well throughout his career.
In many ways it was a di
sarming quote but also a perfectly legitimate one in the circumstances. There were more opportunities for him to slip up on Wednesday night than there were for the players to slide on Hampden's sodden surface.
Croatia are a very good side who technically outclassed England and are deservedly heading off to Austria and Switzerland in the summer. A sound beating at home was a real possibility and the manager knew it. The torrent of late call-offs added to his problems and then of course the Tartan Army hordes weren't at hand in their usual legions to give their invaluable lift to the team.
The hardest managerial jobs are the ones where you take over a relatively successful team, particularly one that has been over-performing for a number of years and has a support with unnaturally high expectations.
Burley had to ensure that a variety of things were not missing from the night's performance against Slaven Bilic's side. First and foremost was the tactical astuteness so regularly shown by his two most recent predecessors. The start was nervy and even before the first goal was scored it was clear the team were sitting far too deep. How would he deal with his first obvious problem?
Burley was on the edge of the technical area in an instant, encouraging the midfield to push further forward the moment it became apparent, no prevarication, no uncertainty. Later, when the system needed to be adapted, again he was bold and quick on the move. His 4-1-4-1 became 4-3-3 and even 4-4-2 for a time as the game's dynamic shifted.
These technical changes tend to happen more often during international games than they do in domestic fixtures and it is vital not to be slow to adapt and of course not to make the wrong decisions when you do.
There was a particular moment late in the game when Scotland almost snatched the win. Kris Boyd fired in a near-post shot that was well saved by Pletikosa. By then five personnel changes had been made by George, but even so there were three other Scotland players who had burst the proverbial gut to get into the box in case the Rangers striker decided to pass instead of shoot. That was of course a spectacularly naive hope from them, but the willingness to get there with four minutes to go, on such an energy-sapping pitch, spoke volumes for the manager's willingness to commit players forward at the right time looking for an unlikely win. Surprisingly there were seven bookings in the game, which is almost unheard of in an international friendly, but even this could be taken in a positive way for the Scots. The Croatians would have happily played out the 90 minutes with an unspoken non-aggression pact, but that is obviously not what the Scotland manager had suggested to his players beforehand. For us to succeed we must be aggressive and once again it was on show to an acceptable level for our future hopes.
The boss also had to ensure that the team spirit and work ethic were still in place and could be counted upon. This is vital, as a quick look at England shows what can happen to even the most talented group when that spirit isn't there. We almost take it for granted now because Walter and Alex managed to get so much out of the team. However, that attitude can take years to build but can be lost over the course of a couple of dodgy team talks. It would seem that George has managed to gain the respect and the confidence of the group already – let's hope it lasts.
With the pressure of their domestic duties hanging over them, it was precisely the kind of end-of-season friendly where some players might be tempted to give something less than 100% for the cause. You only needed to see Stephen McManus tackling, Scott Brown snarling, Gary Caldwell lasting 70 minutes and Paul Hartley running his heart out right to the end to know that they wanted to play for the manager as much as their country. Those four of course had ample reason to soft-peddle with yesterday's Old Firm game on their minds, but there were absolutely no signs of that.
Another concerning area for Burley was to complete the fixture without upsetting the domestic managers he is going to have to rely on during his tenure. With Walter Smith and Gordon Strachan showing such differing attitudes to player availability, it was a fine line to tread, but he can sit comfortably this weekend knowing that both are likely to be perfectly amenable when he needs their help for the big games to come.
He will have to ensure, however, that this alleged reticence by some to play in friendlies does not impact on squad harmony. When a group of players from one club decide to swan back in to the team when it suits them for the big games, it can lead to a smouldering resentment from the foot soldiers who turn up every time whether it is for France or the Faroe Islands… I speak from "mildly" bitter experience!
By the end of the night, an occasion that was greeted with general cynicism beforehand turned out almost as well as it possibly could have. As an exercise for getting the players together with the manager so that they could get to know and understand each other better, it was clearly a success.
It was also about making some money for the SFA after the continuous failures to reach the lucrative final stages of tournaments over the past ten years. That may have been less successful, as was the ticketing bungle before the game, but I certainly would not blame the governing body for trying, even if circumstances and timing worked against them in the end. An expensive game on a cold wet Wednesday night in the middle of a uniquely clogged domestic fixture programme was not perfect, but most of that was impossible to predict in advance.
Most importantly, the fears that George Burley may be more Vogts than votes-winner with the long-suffering fans look likely to be unfounded considering the early evidence.
The full article contains 1143 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
