HE was as cautious as when he lined up against a speedy winger.
Sandy Jardine, a veteran of two World Cups, reflected on a failed European campaign for the national side and predicted difficulties ahead in a World Cup group that includes Serbia, Croatia, Belgium, Wales and Macedonia.
He was supportive of the manager but delicately pointed out that it is not a group that promises qualification. ‘‘The big debate is about whether Craig Levein should carry on,’’ said Jardine. ‘‘For me, I think yes. Why go and change it when he’s starting to get a settled team, with the players responding to the manager?
‘‘The next question is, if Craig wasn’t manager, who would be? We would have to go through another learning curve. So I think he’s done really well. They are getting bedded in to become a reasonable team. They’re in a really, really hard World Cup section. But we go into it a wee bit optimistic.’’
This tentative backing was immediately laced with reality. “It’s getting harder to qualify because of the co-efficient. It’s a stepping stone, you build your co-efficient, then you get an easier draw,’’ said a right full-back who played in the World Cups of 1974 and 1978. ‘‘It’s a really hard draw – a lot harder than the European Championship group we’ve just been in. But, because it’s such a hard draw, everyone will take points off each other. You’ve got to be optimistic and approach it with a positive attitude,’’ he said.
Jardine played at time in Scotland when a case could be made that the best full-backs in the world were playing on opposite sides of the Clyde. Danny McGrain, the Celtic legend, switched to left-back at the World Cup in 1974 to allow Jardine to play on the right. The combination was devastating: quick, tough in the tackle and enterprising in attack. The side in 1974 also had Jimmy Johnstone, Denis Law and Billy Bremner.
Levein has no such talent available but Jardine believes he must be judged on results. ‘‘It’s like any football manager, anyone in a job, you assess them as they go on,’’ said Jardine, who now works in sales and marketing at Rangers. ‘‘You have to give him a criteria before the tournament. You can’t judge after one season, because sometimes there are too many friendlies. In the international arena, you judge a manager by tournaments – the European Championships or World Cup.
He does believe, however, that the standard of Scottish footballers is on the rise. “We were starting to see a lower standard – and I would have to say it’s probably bottoming out now,’’ he said. ‘‘Why was it so low? There are lots of factors. Society has changed, kids are up in their rooms playing their Playstations and watching the telly. School football basically stopped. All these factors came together.
‘‘People are recognising that and trying to work through it. But it’s difficult to start to turn it around and raise standards,’’ he said.
The last qualification for a finals was in 1998 and it would be reasonable to suggest he does not see participation in Brazil on the horizon.
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