WHEN the SFA marketing team dreamed up the slogan‘Nothing Matters More’ for Scotland’s UEFA Nations League campaign, I doubt they envisaged a scenario where punters would agree that indeed, the prospect of doing nothing matters more to them than going to watch the national team.

Given the apathy surrounding the competition and the low attendance at the Albania game, may I suggest the less catchy but nonetheless informative ‘Helloooooo, you do know this is our best chance to qualify, like, ever’ might have been more appropriate? A missed opportunity.

If Alex McLeish and our bonnie lads are not to miss their own golden opportunity, for that is what this is, they must top a group that contains opposition placed somewhere between Kilnockie FC and the Glipton Grasshoppers in the FIFA rankings. The problem that the Scotland manager has is that he is on the brink of putting the call into Jossy to see if any of his Giants are eligible for the national side.

But here is where I think the apathy from supporters bleeds into a false narrative that is being constructed around the raft of call-offs.

Now look, having 11 players cry off duty is never a good look, and particularly for a manager in McLeish’s position where goodwill towards him from the terraces is in short supply. Clearly, despite 77 caps as a Tartan Army hero, McLeish was not a popular choice as manager from the off. There are legitimate reasons behind that, from wanting something fresh after Gordon Strachan’s reign, to the way he left the post the last time around.

But while not personally endorsing his appointment for the first of the reasons above, he is now the Scotland manager, and it is important to judge him on a fair basis. And to use the number of players pulling out as a stick to beat him with doesn’t really hold weight.

Kris Boyd fell into that trap on Sky Sports, saying it was worrying that experienced players were all pulling out while no talent coming through, stating; “What there is, is a lot of inexperienced players aged 24 to 26, picking up their first caps.” Well, actually, only Andy Robertson (26 caps), Callum Patterson (9 caps), Callum McGregor (7 caps), Ryan Fraser (4 caps) and back-up keeper Scott Bain (1 cap) fall into that age category of the players left standing. So, while there may be legitimate reasons to criticise McLeish, let’s not be inventing ones that don’t exist.

Of the 11 players that were called upon that are now unavailable, it seems a stretch that the likes of Kevin McDonald, Mikey Devlin and Stephen O’Donnell would suddenly turn against the man who gave them their first Scotland opportunity. Leigh Griffiths and Steven Naismith were unavailable for their clubs before the get-together, and there is no way anything other than legitimate injuries would keep loyal servants to the cause such as Craig Gordon and Charlie Mulgrew away.

The truth of the matter may well be that club priorities are trumping international ones. Jon McLaughlin called off as third-choice keeper to play for Sunderland this weekend, and the hectic festive schedule is just around the corner. That may explain why no risks were taken with John McGinn and Ryan Jack.

Yes, there is a slightly concerning trend around certain players asking not to be considered for selection ‘for the foreseeable future’. If they think that equates to ‘until we are close to qualifying for something’, they may be in for a rude awakening. Of those, Matt Ritchie is hardly the sort Scotland could rely upon in the trenches in any case. In Robert Snodgrass though, we have perhaps the only concerning call-off of the lot.

Previously, he had asked to be left out of a squad because of understandable family issues. But now he wants to be omitted from national service to manage an ankle injury that hasn’t precluded him from playing 15 games for West Ham this season. Knowing how much playing for Scotland means to him, his withdrawal is the only eyebrow-raiser for me that could lend any credence to the notion of unrest.

The vast majority though can be put down to a combination of bad luck, bad timing, or a managing of priorities. None of that is McLeish’s fault.

There is still plenty of talent available to the Scotland manager, and certainly enough to see off the challenge of Albania and Israel. If he can’t get a tune from these players and lead us to a play-off spot, that is what should be used to judge him.

AND ANOTHER THING

THE public explanation from the SFA on Rangers winger Daniel Candeias's red card at St Mirren was welcome, and with the footage handily provided by the Ibrox club themselves, hopefully clears up any controversy about why the second booking was flashed in his direction.

But I wonder if this will now be standard practice after controversial decisions, or will such action only be taken if a club stamps its feet enough and creates a big enough stooshie?

I would hope that it points to greater transparency from our officials moving forward. It was refreshing, and for me, cleared up the case in question.