GORDON Strachan is set to agree a new deal with the SFA and stay on as Scotland manager - as a result of the backing he received from the Tartan Army in the Euro 2016 qualifier with Gibraltar.

Around 10,000 Scotland supporters travelled to Portugal to watch the national team’s final Group D fixture against the section’s minnows on Sunday night despite it being a meaningless fixture.

They chanted “there’s only one Gordon Strachan” sporadically throughout a game which Scotland won 6-0 thanks to a second half hat-trick from striker Steven Fletcher.

Strachan, whose current contract expires at the end of this month, will make a decision on his future in the coming days after consulting with his colleagues and his family.

Both Alan McRae, the SFA president, and Stewart Regan, the governing body’s chief executive, have stated publicly they would like the 58-year-old to remain in charge.

However, Christophe Berra and Andy Robertson, two of the players who started in the match against Gibraltar at the weekend, believe the endorsement of the fans will persuade him to lead the bid to reach the World Cup in Russia in 2018.

“It was a probably bit emotional for him,” said Berra. “All the fans made a great effort to come over here to watch the game. It shows how much they respect the manager. I am sure he will go away, think about it and we will see what the next step is in his career.

“We have had a good campaign. Okay, we didn’t qualify. But you saw the fans’ ovation the other night. There are not many teams who get knocked out of the tournament who get a standing ovation. I think the fans cheering his name said it all."

Robertson, the Scotland left back, believes the former Coventry City, Southampton, Celtic and Middlesbrough manager will find it impossible to quit his country after the reception he was given in the Estadio Algarve.

“I think it will be down to the manager,” he said. “It depends on his own situation and what he wants to do, if he wants to stay in international football or go back to the club game. We don’t know. He will make up his own mind.

“But if the fans are singing your name like that it is very hard to turn it down. The boys in the changing room definitely want him to stay with the way we are playing under him and the way he conducts himself. He is very positive. I think he’s the man for the job to try and get us through to the World Cup.”

Robertson revealed the Scotland players, whose hopes of qualifying for the Euro 2016 finals in France next summer ended when they drew 2-2 with Poland at Hampden last Thursday, had been taken aback by the support of the Scotland fans.

“It is never a nothing game when you are playing for your country,” he said. “You saw that with the number of fans who came across and what a noise they made. That performance was for them.

“I don’t think you would get any country in the world like that. The fans were unbelievable. We haven’t done the job we set out to do, to try and get us to a championship, and that is the reception we get.

“So that probably shows the hunger and desire to get into the World Cup. I can’t imagine how they would react if we actually qualified. It is my first campaign and hopefully there are more to come. We want to get them back to a big championship.”