Nicholas wants more from Strachan

Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas says Gordon Strachan’s future as Scotland boss could hinge on the outcome of their next match against England at Wembley.

The Scots lost 3-0 to Slovakia on Tuesday to dent their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup in 2018, after a disappointing 1-1 draw against Lithuania at Hampden last weekend.

Strachan said he could not ask his players for more after the loss in Trnava and that he felt sorry for them after the effort they put into the Group F match, but Nicholas did not agree with that assessment and says those comments could mean the Scotland boss is not sure how to take the side forward.

“I don’t understand where Gordon was coming from last night, that he couldn’t ask more of them? You couldn’t ask them to get on the ball and make better passing? Couldn’t ask them to be more creative going forward?

“There is nothing wrong when you come out and accept that this group of players has given him every ounce but that comes across to me as a coach who has run out of ideas, that praises them for not getting paid and then praises them for hard work. It is the least you can ask for.

“They played a counter attack game last night and we had no pace in the team. We had no pace defensively and we had no pace going forward. It didn’t add up.

“Listening to Gordon last night it sounds as if he doesn’t really know anymore and what he is really saying, what it comes across to me is, ‘I’ve tried everything, the players have tried everything and this is the best we will get’. I can’t accept that, I think there has to be more.

“We haven’t made any progress, it has …

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