GORDON Strachan always argued he was not paid to manage Celtic - the remuneration was for managing all the hassle that goes with holding down that particular job.

As he looks down on the club-management melee - Davie Moyes being the latest to lose a high-profile position - it's clear 57-year-old Strachan is content to be out of it all and safely ensconced as a national team boss.

But, while he has been turning around the fortunes of Scotland, Scottish managers have been falling from grace down south.

Where once there were seven in top Premiership positions, there now stands only Paul Lambert at Aston Villa.

Strachan does not intend to trespass into Moyes' personal grief as he comes to terms with lasting only 10 months at Old Trafford.

But he is willing to jump to the defence of Scots managers in general as they become something of an endangered species in England's top flight.

He said: "I didn't know there was a demise going on. Over the ages we've had top managers and I don't think anything's going to change, because we have that drive.

"We have that anger about us that sometimes you need.

"The game is changing and we have to change to suit the game, by the looks of it.

"There are different types of management and you have to change to suit whatever is needed at that time."

However Strachan is very much of the mind that, if you can't stand the heat, it's better for everyone if you get out of the kitchen - though he accepts that, for many, they need to remain there to ensure food is kept on the table.

"The Premier League is stressful but you get paid lots of money for that," he mused.

"I remember one manager telling me about the stress of it and I said, 'Aye, but you get paid a fortune, don't you?'

"He replied, 'Aye' and I said, 'That's why you get paid a fortune'.

"It's not to pick great players. It's easy to pick great players. It's dealing with the nonsense that comes along with the job that is hard.

"That is why, in England, it's not such a bitter blow. It hurts your pride, but you get well paid.

"It's different if you are somebody in this league, where you don't get so much money, and that's to keep the family going.

"You just can't get sacked here and go, 'Great - that's us for life now'. That is real pressure."

He added: "There's more pressure on the guys at the bottom.

"Okay, they've got their pride and don't want to go down. But it's your family you're dealing with here.

"People want them to play flamboyant, attacking football.

"But that guy wants to survive because he wants to look after his family, especially the younger managers trying to get a foothold in the game. They're the ones I really feel for."

Strachan was speaking as he announced the shortlist for the PFA Scotland Manager of the Year, sponsored by Cheque Centre.

The nominations are Neil Lennon, Tommy Wright, Derek McInnes and Stuart McCall.