THERE is always someone worse off than yourself as one rather loud but savvy England fan observed on the London underground on Friday night in the immediate aftermath of his side’s comprehensive if hardly mesmerising victory over Scotland. “We were rubbish,” he bellowed to all in the vicinity. “But they were even more rubbish”. There was an extra adjective in there, too, and he used a noun somewhat stronger than rubbish. It was hard to disagree.

The Three Lions’ years of hurt may have rolled onto the half-century mark but failure is very much a relative term. What Scotland would give for humdrum, unflashy victories game after game, for qualification for major tournaments every two years to be a near cast-iron certainty before the first ball has even been kicked.

Instead, it has been an unrelenting tale of misery and disappointment. Twenty years of hurt now and counting. Fifth in a World Cup qualifying group behind giants of the game like Slovenia and Lithuania, that opening day 5-1 win away in Malta now looking increasingly like the falsest of false dawns. Even the Mediterranean minnows only conceded twice on their recent visit to Wembley.

Various Scotland figures emerged on Friday night to insist there were still signs of progress, that we could still qualify for the finals in Russia in two years’ time with a favourable wind and a better bounce of the ball. You would not have expected any different.

The truth is, however, that this is a team stagnating, perhaps even going backwards. Since defeating the Republic of Ireland at Celtic Park in November 2014, there has been no real evidence to suggest better times are just around the corner. The only countries Scotland have beaten in competitive matches over the past two years are Malta and Gibraltar (twice). It makes for grim reading.

With no game now until Slovenia come to Hampden in late March, it would seem the ideal time to pursue a new manager. Placing the burden of blame at Gordon Strachan’s door for the 3-0 loss to England would be harsh. There is nothing a manager can do about players shooting wide from right in front of goal – as James Forrest did early in the second half – or about defenders not properly tracking runners as happened at all three England goals. But it speaks to a wider malaise within the group. Perhaps after almost four years in charge, Strachan simply cannot motivate these players as he once could. Back-to-back 3-0 defeats following a tame draw at home to Lithuania would seem to suggest as much.

There is no scientific proof that changing a manager guarantees an immediate revival in fortunes but it has reached the point where Scotland have next to nothing to lose by giving it a try. The early, hopeful promise that emerged under Strachan has failed to blossom into anything more substantial. The feeling lingered following an ultimately unsuccessful European Championship qualifying campaign that it wasn’t likely to get any better in a World Cup group with diminished prospects of progression and so it has proved. Scotland are out of the reckoning after only four matches played. An honourable man, it is difficult to see Strachan putting up too much of a protest should the SFA decide it is time to replace him. He may well save them the bother and step aside himself.

Which path to go down now is the next obvious question. The harsh truth of the matter is that whoever succeeds Strachan will be overseeing largely meaningless fixtures for the best part of the next two years. Scotland will not – almost already arithmetically cannot – qualify for the World Cup, giving the new manager little to aim for but scope for experimentation in his opening matches.

He may, as Strachan also ought to, have course to question whether the SFA are doing enough to develop talent and unearth potential internationals with Scottish heritage. Charlie Adam has found sympathisers this week at his lament at not being selected of late, while others like Ross McCormack and Stuart Armstrong could make a similar case. But examples of worthy players being overlooked are thin on the ground. For all Strachan has been accused of staying loyal to the same faces, there are not too many others who have been banging on the door, deserving inclusion. That the SFA have still not announced their new Performance Director – four months since Brian McClair left the post – is a further sign of a fractured development policy that is not producing young players ready to step into the senior fray.

The issue now is whether Scotland look backwards or forwards. Do they turn to a familiar face to try to steady the ship? Alex McLeish and Walter Smith, both former Scotland managers, have been mooted as possible replacements, the former more likely to be interested than the latter. Or do they cast the net further and seek out another foreign manager? Lars Lagerback, latterly of Iceland, would be a huge coup if they could talk the Swede out of retirement, while there is a growing clamour for the SFA to approach Edinburgh-based Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill. Both would almost certainly improve Scotland but persuading either to take on an increasingly hopeless cause may well prove to be the hardest part of the process.