During an unusually frank and concise interview with the Sunday newspaper brethren – it’s the equivalent of a cosy chat with Philip and Fern – Burley left the impression that there are still some within his squad who are not wholly committed to the cause.

This is reason enough for the Scottish Football Association board to put aside the belated optimism of the past two performances and end the poor man’s misery.

In one campaign alone, Scotland have lost Lee McCulloch, Kris Boyd, Allan McGregor and Barry Ferguson for various reasons. None of them, not even McCulloch, who had more legitimate reasons for retiring than the rest, would have even contemplated walking out or getting tanked-up under any of Walter Smith, Craig Levein or Gordon Strachan, the three men who have already joined an imaginary short-list.

Scotland cannot afford any more high-profile or experienced casualties. Nor can Burley hope to survive or prosper if he has not yet weeded out every single one of the bad apples. He should have named and shamed the offending player, or players, but he is too nice for that.

In any case, it would not require a rocket scientist to uncover their identities given the previous miscreants.

It is this indecision that is killing Burley. If anyone has shown even a hint of uninterest or disloyalty to the cause, he should not be anywhere near the group.

Can the SFA, with the nation’s best interests at heart, allow Burley to remain in charge at the risk of further walk-outs?

There is an argument that Scotland are actually better off without the dissenting voices but while the most recent performances back-up the theory, the Group 9 
table does not lie. Of course he will have a more harmonious squad when he introduces players who would not have been involved but for the calamitous sequence of events but Burley has another problem. His coaching appointments, with the exception of a former England captain, Terry Butcher, have been disastrous and two of them will have to go.

Steven Pressley, with no real experience, has failed in his role as link between the squad and the management team. He has alienated many of those who had until recently been international team-mates and was quickly prevented from having his say in the dressing-room.

Tommy McLean is an anachronism and his presence has prompted some within the squad to wonder whose voice carries greatest weight around the staff.

Any manager worth his salt would stand by his assistants and refuse to be dictated to by the hierarchy or militant members of the squad.

Instead, he told the Sundays: “Sometimes you don’t make the right decisions . . . the backroom 
set-up is something I need to address.” It has been a problem from day one, so why wasn’t the mistake rectified sooner? If he survives, where else will he turn, or will he be happy for the SFA to pick a new team for him?

This is the latest manifestation of a root problem: Burley does not come across as a man in full control of his job. He is at his best setting out strategy and picking players but is fundamentally lacking in the media and diplomatic duties that are prerequisites for international management.

It would be foolhardy for George Peat and Gordon Smith, SFA president and chief executive respectively, to consider the display against the Netherlands as evidence in the case for Burley’s defence. For a start, Scotland lost a must-win game. Secondly, their admittedly rousing performance was enabled by a Dutch team who were categorically in cruise control.

Some have long had it in for Burley while some of us have been impressed by his tactics and are prepared to give the benefit of considerable doubt.

Politics will now take over. Smith has apparently softened his stance while Peat, deep down, is convinced he will have to act. The others will cast their vote with at least one eye on their own ambitions within the organisation.

Burley is a hostage to fate. Compensation is not a major consideration but Scotland cannot afford any more indecision. It has already cost us a place in the World Cup.

He should be allowed to leave while his dignity and reputation are still intact.

And another thing . . .

Stewart Gilmour is one of the true unsung heroes of Scottish football. Rarely in the headlines because his views on the game are thoughtful and intelligent, he should be given the freedom of Paisley for his services to St Mirren.

In 13 years, he and his board have overhauled a club that had threatened to implode after suffering from sustained financial recklessness.

Gus MacPherson may bemoan the budgetary constraints but the supporters who turn up to their dinky new stadium to watch a limited but lively team should raise a glass to the man who has helped make it all possible.

If guys like Gilmour were running our game we would all be better off in the long run.