ALEX McLeish starts his defence of Scottish refereeing with the obligatory compliment about the one who used to line up alongside him in the Aberdeen backline. “Willie Miller reffed games really well,” he jokes.

While the Scotland manager admits to his run-ins with our match officials during his playing days at Pittodrie, and thankfully admits that calls to replace them with foreign ones aren’t exactly his department, he has no problem sitcking up for “our boys” in black.

“I always felt it was the toughest job in football because of the abuse they got - and that was back then,” said McLeish. “But the scrutiny is now very severe and that’s the modern world we’re in with cameras, VAR, and social media. There’s no hiding place. We should back the guys as much as we can.”

If there is a criticism, it is of the players in domestic matches who don’t always treat the match officials with the respect which they deserve. If familiarity breeds contempt, it should also be noted that in his first stint at Scotland manager he was on the wrong end of at least one hugely contentious refereeing decision at international level.

“When you are in Europe the players have more respect for refs in the Champions League or Europa League,” said McLeish, who never experienced foreign referees during his time in Egypt - even though it is commonplace for them to be parachuted into officiate in high profile matches like cup finals. “They know not to mess with the refs. They seem so much firmer and if you confront them it’s an instant booking.

“In domestic games there is a familiarity,” he added. “I heard in Spain a few years ago that if you dissed a ref they would do you in for the next incident. That’s how it worked. It’s not a secret. It was out in the open.

“I think refs have to be firm and there has to be a respect but at the same time you don’t want refs to be stubborn. I saw a ref the other week give a penalty and then got the word in his ear and changed his mind and upset another team. But it was the right decision. I thought, ‘brilliant’ that’s what you want.”

The one innovation which is definitely on its way in Scotland in VAR – the only question is how the SPFL and SFA choose to implement it, and at what costs to the club. But when justice isn’t always seen to be done even at a pivotal moment of the World Cup final you know that even it won’t end all the arguments. “The French got away with a lot in that final,” he said. “So there is work to be done and there is still the question of if it still comes down to the ref’s ego.”

All this stuff about referees side-tracked McLeish somewhat from the matter in hand, the small matter of selecting a squad for the forthcoming opening European Championships double header against Kazakhstan and San Marino at the end of March. His group won’t be formalised until the second week of next month but McLeish proved that he hasn’t been idle since the thrilling 3-2 win against Israel in November which means we have a Uefa Nations League play-off at least to look forward to.

Qualifying as of right would be preferable, of course, and McLeish admitted last night that he has been considering a couple of fresh options to fill what is still something of a striker shortage. While Oliver Burke has done himself no harm since arriving on-loan at Celtic from West Brom, he is still hopeful that Che Adams of Birmingham City will take the plunge to commit himself for Scotland. While the 22-year-old, who has plundered 19 goals this season at St Mary’s, has yet to commit to playing for Scotland, McLeish feels he can give him the perfect platform. “I spoke to his [Adams’] agent,” said McLeish. “And he said Che didn’t feel he was quite ready to come and play for Scotland quite yet. He just wanted to concentrate on club football at the moment. But I personally think we could enhance his career if he comes and pledges his career to Scotland. At the moment though, it’s a no.

“He has been in the system for a long while,” he added. “The 21s tried to get him, maybe even longer – the 18s or 19s. At that time he maybe thought he would get called up for England or something. And he knocked them back. But I would rather not cut my nose off to spite my face.”

Two years have passed since Burke last graced the full squad but his exile may not last much longer. “Oliver’s come up here and he’s playing for the team at the top of the league, a team with great belief and confidence in themselves and who’ve been used to winning everything for the past few years and that’s been a great environment for him to come into,” he said. “I’m not saying we’ll definitely pick him but we can’t ignore him. Against teams who play a high line, Burke – with his pace – is certainly one of those players who could harm them.”

Mind you, McLeish took issues with Craig Levein’s assertion that Steven Naismith choosing to move to the MLS could cost his international hopes. Playing in the US has proved no impediment to Jonny Russell making the squad “I know what big Craig is saying, where he is coming from, but he has Hearts-tinted glasses on,” said McLeish. “He has to say that to try to persuade Steven to stay but we are not exactly blessed with centre forwards.”

Kieran Tierney will also be welcomed back into the fold after his hip problem. “He’s been out for a while but you’d reckons that the training he’s had has been of a high standard. If he’s ready for Celtic, he should also be ready for Scotland.”