GORDON Strachan has never felt comfortable being fussed over and fawned about, and in truth he did not always look as though he knew what to do with all the handshakes and pats on the back coming his way as an exhausted, sweating party of players, management, Scottish Football Association staff, sponsors, media and assorted hangers-on returned from Croatia.
Despite his days of intense work and meticulous preparation, dealing with the heady aftermath of a win in Zagreb must have been about the only thing he had not anticipated.
He was not the only one. Celebrations come naturally to some – think Kenny Dalglish, arms out wide, smiling like a schoolboy after a goal – and less so to others. Strachan's most memorable moment as a Scotland player was that goal against Germany at the 1986 World Cup, when he then made a joke of being too wee to jump over a perimeter advertising board. Now he has the first memorable chapter of his career as the national team's manager and not being sure how to react to it was understandable. For the moment let's say this: what he and his team pulled off sent people into the close season with a spring in their step.
We can also surmise this much: Strachan knows his tactics and on Friday delivered an exceptional result without providing a definitive template for the way forward. Scotland won't get to Euro 2016 just by playing like they did in Croatia. When he spoke to us in Zagreb last week he made subtle references to having two gameplans: one for dealing with the expected onslaught, another for a more expansive way of playing in subsequent fixtures. Both approaches have to work when the next qualifying campaign begins in 15 months.
Feeling sorry for ourselves is a national characteristic and we're not slow to make a song and dance about the times when luck goes against us. It's only right to acknowledge when some goes our way. The only goal on Friday came from Scotland's one decent chance of the night when Shaun Maloney's aggressive, driving run was stopped by a Darijo Srna interception that diverted the ball straight into the path of Robert Snodgrass. After an hour, an Ivica Olic cross sent the ball across the Scottish goal and Mario Mandzukic stretched to convert what looked a certain goal at the back post. Incredibly – and let's be honest, luckily – it somehow flew wide. Either of those knife-edge moments could have gone the other way, turning 1-0 into 0-1.
The difference between Friday night and all the sorry, wretched Scotland performances and results over the past couple of years was the team's discipline, shape and structure. There were still some individual errors, but far fewer of them and none that proved costly. They had only 35% of the possession and there were barely any moments in the entire 90 minutes when the front six had any time and space to play with their heads up.
Being harried by the Croats contributed to the team's pass completion rate coming in at a typically low 68% (Croatia's was 80%). But they tackled well, worked tirelessly, dealt with crosses and constantly presented Croatia with walls of blue shirts behind the ball. And by managing to knock around a few neat, short passes in the opening minutes they settled themselves and got it into their heads that they weren't out of their depth.
What is so precious about Zagreb is what it should do to the morale and the self-belief of a set of players who had previously delivered nothing as a group for Scotland. Only Alan Hutton – who had his best game in years – played in the famous 2007 win in Paris. Scotland get-togethers have too often been grey, demoralising episodes shaped by one awful performance after another. Now there is a result which can stand as a foundation. In truth, until Friday Scotland under Strachan had been largely indistinguishable from the way they had performed under Craig Levein, but now he has the sort of result his predecessor never managed to deliver. The obvious organisation and intelligence that went into the planning of it – luck or no luck – will have impressed this set of players and left them craving more.
As for England, they are comparable in quality to Croatia but surely will be geed up to play with more urgency and aggression on August 14 than Igor Stimac's strangely subdued team did the other night. Scotland's "recovery" is fragile and on paper the inferiority to England is pretty profound. But doesn't Wembley suddenly feel a whole lot more interesting?
And Another Thing
Kenny Shiels combines occasional good sense with what seems like wilful, provocative eccentricity. He's about to be sacked at Kilmarnock because he rubs some people up the wrong way within the boardroom and because of the comments he makes, which get him occasional wee slaps on the wrist from the SFA.
Kilmarnock will argue they fear decline and possible relegation under him, especially with play-offs coming in, but although they finished seventh a year ago and ninth this season, their points total was only two lower. Winning the League Cup for them seems not to count for much now.
Shiels has ruffled plenty of feathers but it will be depressing when his dismissal is confirmed this week. One small consolation would be that he isn't likely to go quietly.
Gordon Strachan is ill at ease celebrating, but he has put foundations in place
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