Alex McLeish has defended Scotland’s pointless trip to South and Central America.
Two defeats, two shots on target over 180 minutes plus dropped ranking points with a shadow squad helped take the success rate of the former Rangers (IL) manager down to 25%.
Stewart Regan took the blame for arranging the jolly that has eaten into the holiday time of Scott Bain, Ryan Christie, Jack Hendry and Lewis Morgan.
A year ago Scotland almost pulled off a surprise World Cup qualifying win over England but as the football world looks towards Russia the Tartan Army are left with an outdated coach working on damage limitation while clutching at straws.
“The trip has been great,” McLeish told the Daily Record. “The players have been very professional.
“Normally they would be on their holidays. We would love to be going to the World Cup the same as Mexico but we have played a couple of games that can help us build for the future.
“It was a very tough game for us at altitude and in these conditions. I think the players that we had out there did the country proud.
“We are trying to get better on the technical side and we have asked the players to look at their game and be brave, to make passes and receive passes.
“It’s a big part of the plan going forward.”
McLeish had until Thursday to agree a repayment plan with HMRC over his £1.7m disguised remuneration from his time at Ibrox under Dave Murray.
