The knives are out already for George Burley. His crime? Optimism. Saturday�s 1-0 defeat to Macedonia confirmed, in a competitive environment, what many observers feared after three flaccid friendlies: that the national team are beginning to reflect the lack of conviction demonstrated by the manager.

The knives are out already for George Burley. His crime? Optimism. Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Macedonia confirmed, in a competitive environment, what many observers feared after three flaccid friendlies: that the national team are beginning to reflect the lack of conviction demonstrated by the manager.

There is nothing new in Scotland stumbling against supposed international cannon fodder. Walter Smith was not immune to it, losing 1-0 to Belarus at Hampden Park in the last World Cup qualifying campaign, and neither was Alex McLeish, whose hopes of reaching Euro 2008 were pricked by a calamitous 2-0 defeat to Georgia in Tbilisi.

The difference is trust and respect. Sadly, Burley conveys neither in public. In the aftermath of Saturday's defeat, Scotland's intangible second-half comeback was described as "outstanding". It was an improvement, it may even have been mildly encouraging, but it was far from outstanding.

It is hard not to sympathise with Burley.

His predecessors would have struggled in the searing heat of Skopje minus Barry Ferguson and Alan Hutton. Scotland, when deprived of even a couple of their first-choice players, make a mockery of their elevated status in FIFA's world rankings.

Burley is being harangued for his persistent use of 4-4-2 when the counter argument is failure to reach Euro 2008, however narrowly. If he was content to maintain the status quo, he would stand accused of unoriginality.

For all his worthy intentions, Burley does not help himself. He has appointed, on an ad hoc basis, an army of staff that simply gives the impression that decisions are made by committee. He should have dispatched one of his assistants, Steven Pressley or Terry Butcher, to assess Macedonia rather than involve Craig Brown. Tommy McLean may have a breadth of experience but if Burley is insistent on having a pair of eyes in the stand, why not use the ones he should trust above all others: his own?

Smith, for one, has made a successful career out of splitting his time between the directors box and the dug-out and, as a result, has maximised the impact of his instructions. It would enable Butcher to do what he does best. The former England captain resembles a caged and sedated lion in the Scotland dug-out: full of pent-up energy but respectful of Burley's seniority.

Pressley is in the awkward position of passing on instruction to peers who are deemed more worthy of a place in the team.

Already, it appears the coaching staff will need to re-examine the demarcation lines. Burley has long been uncomfortable with media chores and, consequently, has been lampooned in some quarters for being inarticulate and banal. Football management is hardly a haven of intellectualism but his polite waffle is now being used against him.

Butcher is far more adept at satisfying the media demands and less likely to receive the kind of cowardly innuendo Burley has been subjected to. It is hard to escape the impression that the current set-up could go pear-shaped quickly, from the top down. Gordon Smith, in attempting to be modern and accessible, undermined his authority by agreeing to a documentary that shows him in a poor and even hapless light.

Burley, from today onwards, must learn to stand up for himself. He has to be told, slowly but forcefully, to stop his wandering monologues and to bin his stock-answer cliches or invite further ridicule. He may even be advised to curb the volume of his public appearances. Some of the criticism has been deeply disrespectful towards a man who is pleasant and courteous and who undeniably wants the best for his country. Neither Smith nor McLeish would stand for it but neither would leave themselves open to it.

The quickest way to fend off the flak is to compile favourable results and fast. Scotland's aspirations of performing in South Africa will be ruined unless they win against Iceland on Wednesday. Burley has to be ruthless in his convictions or the squad, never mind the media, will lose faith.

"I said before the World Cup that the friendly games were the build-up; today was a tester for us, and in the first half we never got to grips, but in the second half we did," he said of the introductory defeat. "We've got seven games left, and we've still got the possibility to qualify, though it makes it tougher."

The manner in which Scotland reacted to Burley's half-time team-talk was one of the few encouraging aspects of a forgettable tie. Even accounting for the heat, they were appallingly unkempt throughout the first half and, despite rallying, were reliant on Craig Gordon to preserve respectability.

Burley now has some bold decisions to make. James McFadden and Kenny Miller do not work as a partnership. Steven Fletcher has been elevated from the under-21s and may be parachuted into the starting line-up.

Barry Robson was the most industrious of Scotland's midfielders but, by dint of his comparative inexperience, is still the most likely to make way for either Shaun Maloney or Kris Commons. Scott Brown and Darren Fletcher have had their pride jarred and must do better.

"International football is difficult," insisted Burley. "Look at the game: a decision, a roll of the ball and we could have won but we ended up losing 1-0."

This type of cosmic analysis does not concur with the facts. Gordon made two world-class saves, while Scotland's best effort was a missed header by Fletcher. Burley must give Scotland a reason to believe in him.

A win in Reykjavik is a start.