HAVING only lost his first competitive match
as Scotland manager, there is no clamour for George Burley to resign quite yet.
But, make no mistake, if his team produce as toothless a performance against Iceland on Wednesday as they did against Macedonia then there will be.
The opening World Cup qualifier in Skopje on Saturday was only Burley's fourth match in charge of his country since being appointed in January.
A narrow 1-0 defeat against useful, if not world class, opposition away from home in 100 degree heat may not seem too disastrous at first glance.
Particularly when the home team's goal was scored after they were wrongfully awarded a free-kick in a dangerous area by referee Pavel Kralovec.
And especially as Kralovec denied the Scots not one, but two strong penalty claims late on when both Kenny Miller and James McFadden were brought down.
Yet, as has been the case in friendlies against Croatia, the Czech Repblic and Northern Ireland, the national team was far from convincing against Macedonia.
Burley has still shown nothing in his tenure so far to suggest he is the man who can end our painful absence from the finals of a major tournament.
The former Ipswich, Derby, Hearts and Southampton boss argued that his team had
performed far better in the second-half in their first Group Nine outing.
Certainly, Scotland, who had lost a goal to Ilco Naumoski after just five
minutes, looked more dangerous following the break than they had in the first half.
However, even then, they failed to convert the large amount of possession they enjoyed into tangible scoring chances due to a lack of guile and composure in the final third.
Personally, I also felt Srecko Katanec deliberately changed his side's tactics at half-time; they sat back, defended their lead and invited their visitors on to them.
It was a smart ploy to make the Scots do all the running in the sort of high temperatures we have not been used to this summer.
Macedonia looked dangerous on the counter-attack as the game wore on and only some fine goalkeeping from Craig Gordon kept the scoreline respectable.
Opposite number Petar Milosevski was not tested in a similar manner.
Burley now desperately needs to show the tactical nous and motivational
qualities a man in his position should have to ensure his team improve - and drastically - in Reykjavik in two days' time.
Failure to secure at least a draw in the Laugardalsvollur Stadium would be a severe, possibly even fatal, blow to our hopes of qualification.
It would also raise serious question marks over the
ability of Burley to continue the good work done by his predecessors Alex McLeish and Walter Smith.
It will not be easy. Iceland showed they will be no push-overs in fighting back twice to earn a 2-2 draw with Norway in Oslo on Saturday night.
It is difficult not to feel sympathy for the manager. He has been charged with the task of taking us to South Africa in 2010 with a group of, by and large, fairly ordinary players.
The loss of Alan Hutton, who failed to recover from a broken bone in his foot in time to be included in the national squad, has been particularly costly.
Graham Alexander, who was originally left out of the squad for the Northern Ireland friendly last month, took over from the £9million Spurs defender at right back.
The Burnley man has been a decent, loyal servant to his adopted homeland over the years, but, at 36, international football now looks beyond him. The veteran offered
virtually nothing going forward in the City Stadium on Saturday and his passing was also wildly erratic.
Burley can have no room for sentiment if he is going to
succeed as Scotland manager and must wield the axe on those who are not performing.
Picking Kirk Broadfoot of Rangers ahead of Alexander to win his first cap against Iceland would be a bold, many would say foolish, decision.
Yet, as the much-maligned Broadfoot showed in his club side's recent 4-2 victory over Celtic at Parkhead he has no qualms about bursting
forward into the opposition half. Alexander may be ruled out anyway.
Burley may also have a revise his opinion on Scott Brown, the player he defended to the hilt after the Old Firm game, ahead of the meeting with Iceland.
As has so often been the case with Celtic in the last season or so, Brown was, save for a lively first five minutes of the second half, posted missing against Macedonia.
Bringing his Hoops team- mate Shaun Maloney or even Steven Fletcher into the starting line-up could prove more fruitful.
NEED TO KNOW
Was it a good game? Not from Scotland's point of view. The result might not be a complete disaster, but it is the nightmare scenario that everyone wanted to avoid.
It doesn't help that Scotland have yet to win a game under George Burley and aside from the result, the performance was pretty woeful, too.
Only fleetingly did Scotland look capable of scoring and this is a major worry ahead of a long qualifying campaign.
There was a lethargy about the team and too often Burley's side were guilty of making silly, unforced mistakes.
Stephen McManus has been criticised for lunging in to give Macedonia the free-kick from which they scored, but his error came after a slack ball from Scott Brown in the first place and this pretty much summed Scotland up.
Scotland's best player? Difficult to say as no-one truly stood out.
Craig Gordon was unlucky to lose the goal after making such a good save to palm the effort on to the post initially, but was let down by a static defence.
Outfield, there were precious little moments of creativity.
James McFadden could and should have won a penalty, but the Scotland idol cannot be expected to be the saviour every time he pulls on the dark blue shirt of his country.
And their top man? Lazio striker Goran Pandev took most of the headlines in the build-up to the game and the player lived up to his billing before being subbed in the second half.
He was a real nightmare for Scotland to deal with and seemed to be at the heart of everything Macedonia did in Scotland's half.
Vlade Lazarevski and Goran Maznov were also dangerous and the width they gave their side was something Scotland struggled to contain.
What about the ref? Czech whistler Pavel Kralovec denied Scotland what appeared to be a stonewall penalty when McFadden was tripped 20 minutes from time. The ref doesn't have much experience at this level and it showed at times.
And who's up next? Iceland. It will be a fraught evening for Scotland on Wednesday night and the prospect of another defeat doesn't bear thinking about for the Tartan Army.
The Icelanders drew 2-2 with Norway at the weekend, but Scotland need to find some confidence and some form before the meeting.
ALISON McCONNELL
WHAT THEY SAID . . .
Stephen McManus
The free-kick against me that led to their goal shouldn't have been given because the lad made no contact at all with my leg. I was surprised when the referee gave it. But having said that it all started with a slack ball by us then no one reacted when their lad followed it up.
Paul Hartley
Iceland's a must-win game for us now. Conditions were difficult, although I felt we were the better team. We just couldn't take our chances.
Kenny Miller
I don't think we played well in the first half and that early goal from them was disappointing. Although after that I felt it was quite a level game. We even had a couple of first-half chances and then we dominated the second half, but never got the break of the ball. I certainly felt I should have had a penalty, but Faddy's was a stonewall. I felt the ref was outstanding, but when it came to one big decision he got it wrong. We have to pick ourselves up and get the three points we need in Iceland.
Barry Robson
That was a really hard shift and the hottest conditions I've ever played in. I thought playing in Prague last season was hot but this was hotter.
Scotland team doctor John MacLean
The players lost as much as half a stone in that heat. It was very difficult for them and we had to give them as much liquid as often as possible. Now we have to re-acclimatise back home before going to Iceland.
