SOME people were quick to jump the gun and call for the head of Scotland Under-21 coach Billy Stark this week after our 6-0 drubbing at the hands of our English counterparts at Bramall Lane on Tuesday night.

Maybe they were swayed by the fact the English got rid of their Under-21 coach, Stuart Pearce, after he failed to record a win at this summer's European Championship.

But these people forget the fine job Stark has done at Under-21 level for years, not to mention the win he recorded in his one match in charge of the full team. Instead it should be SFA performance director Mark Wotte who is looking over his shoulder.

Stark has proven now over a number of years to be a very good coach, but the one who isn't proven is Wotte.

It is up to him to prepare our boys from youth level up to be ready for the Under-21s but clearly the players who lost 6-0 in midweek weren't ready. Was Islam Feruz really ready at 17 to play centre-forward against bigger, stronger, quicker England players?

English scouts were at the match to see if they could pick up a couple of boys, but by all accounts the scouts and English media were laughing at us. At least the first team brought a little bit of pride back at Wembley 24 hours later.

Wotte has been saying things which worry me almost from the very start, all of 26 months ago now. First he effectively ring-fenced his job for the next 10 years, by saying it will be 10 years before his work pays off. I wish we could all protect our jobs that way.

Then he tries to get all our youth coaches into a particular system by saying that every level has to play a 4-3-3 like the Dutch model.

That for me is an incredible statement, and one - whether he has reached a higher level than me coaching-wise or not - which I have to question.

He says Scotland must play 4-3-3 and that is it, but formations have to vary with team's personnel and that of the opposition. People say 4-4-2 is prehistoric, but Manchester United have still managed to win the league with it in the last few years. Wotte is saying you have to be rigid but every coach knows you can be versatile.

For me, Wotte's job is to teach boys how to play every ­formation, not just one. By the time they arrive in the full squad these players could be asked to play any formation that national coach Gordon Strachan decides on.

As for the full team, it was glorious failure once again. Everybody expected England to win, with supposedly better technical players and bigger names, but that's why it is so disappointing to be beaten by two set-pieces rather than some blinding pace and technique from Theo Walcott, a trademark strike from Frank Lampard, or a piece of magic from Danny Welbeck or Wayne Rooney. We dropped two runners and conceded two goals.

It was simply a case of not sorting out who picks up the substitute from set plays.

Have Scotland have improved under Gordon Strachan? Their results have clearly improved but I always said these players under-performed under Craig Levein. They are playing with confidence now, but it is largely the same group of players. I have always said we might not have world-beaters but our players were good enough to get better results than we had been.

Kenny Miller's glorious strike at Wembley on Wednesday was not an end - he still has something to offer.

Kenny is 33 and it raised a few eyebrows when he started, but he always turns up, prides himself on wearing the Scotland shirt and even before that goal deserves to be regarded as a Scotland legend.

He won't always start but he will start certain games, particularly away from home when his pace gets you up the park. He sets a certain standard for what to expect if you are going to play a lone striker.

Sometimes we are too quick to embrace the new kid on the block - Miller has still got a big part to play. Next up are Belgium, and that's a game Kenny is perfect for.

After Wednesday night, we have to be realistic going into it, but we can be optimistic too.