Burley blessed as Scots strike

AFTER the torturous days he had endured following that defeat by Holland in Amsterdam, Scotland boss George Burley will today be viewing this result as a blessed relief.

But while he could allow himself a few minutes to enjoy a victory which has kept the dream of next year's World Cup finals in South Africa alive, Burley knows the spotlight will soon return to the issue of skipper Barry Ferguson and goalkeeper Allan McGregor.

The alleged bender upon which the Rangers pair were said to have embarked shortly after returning to their luxury hotel on the banks of Loch Lomond in the early hours of Sunday morning overshadowed the build-up to what was being seen as a game more pertinent to Scotland's hopes of qualifying than events in the Amsterdam ArenA.

Dealing with the immediate aftermath provided Burley with as stern a test as any he has faced on a football pitch either as player or manager, or will probably have to deal with in the future wherever that might take him.

While some reports claimed Ferguson and McGregor were being told to pack their bags and leave, others suggested profuse apologies on their part averted that particular course of action, the chastened stars finding themselves on the bench for the visit of Iceland where they could hear the Tartan Army's verdict on their escapade, a chorus of boos ringing round Hampden as their names were announced among the substitutes.

Heartened by a 2-1 win which, as Burley said, keeps Scotland in there fighting as they attempt to secure second place – the Dutch, as predicted, already beginning to motor out of sight following last night's 4-0 win over Macedonia – the coach afterwards insisted he had no problem with Ferguson, claiming the midfielder would remain his captain and that both he and McGregor would continue to be in his thoughts in future.

Deep down, however, Burley knows full well that the episode is far from closed despite his efforts to declare the matter over. The SFA's chief executive Gordon Smith has already announced that while matters of discipline are the manager's territory, the Hampden officials will soon be launching their own review of the whole affair, a somewhat less than ringing endorsement of the action taken.

If Ferguson and McGregor are the villains of the piece, said to have still been drinking towards lunchtime when even the most ardent of clubbers knows dawn signals time for bed, then, no doubt, Smith and others will want to discuss the culpability of Burley and his management team in allowing such a situation to arise in the first place. Few would argue that sanctioning a couple of beers to wind down after a hard week's work which ended in such bitter disappointment was out of order.

What happened thereafter, if the tabloid reports are to be believed, most certainly was and, at the very least, displayed scant regard to those thousands of foot soldiers who scraped together their hard-earned cash to cheer Burley's players on, first in Holland, and then last night turning up to create a new midweek crowd record for a competitive match since Hampden was revamped.

Professional football players or sportsmen of any kind should, of course, be able to be trusted but Burley and his sidekicks Terry Butcher and Steven Pressley have been around the game long enough to know that isn't necessarily the case. So why, then, was one or other, or even all three not about to impose their authority and call it a day long before Sunday was halfway through?

Such questions will undoubtedly form part of the review into the whole sorry episode, the one saving grace being the three points gained from this match, a win which puts Scotland in with a fighting chance, at least, of a play-off place.

For that Burley would have breathed a sigh of relief, dropping both Ferguson and McGregor part of a vastly reshaped side which included the return of former Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon who repaid his old Tynecastle gaffer's faith with a stunning double save at the death as Iceland sought to equalise for a second time.

Burley said: "When I had him at Hearts and since he has played for Scotland I've always believed he will save everything because he is so good. He hasn't had ideal preparation in terms of league games but he is a top international goalkeeper."

Gordon, of course, had missed out in Holland, Burley's reasoning being, as in the case of Rangers striker Kris Boyd earlier in the campaign, he hadn't played enough for Sunderland this season to justify his international place. Unlike Boyd, however, Gordon accepted the argument but, nevertheless, was delighted to be recalled.

Would he, though, have got the nod had McGregor not sullied his reputation? Burley sidestepped that question, which also applied to Ferguson, by insisting he had named the squad, picked the team, made the choices: "End of story."

However, in a tacit acknowledgement of the fine line he had trod, he added: "When you are making big decisions you are there to be shot down if it does not work. I thought it worked, the tactics, the players, the combinations were excellent."

Whether the same performance and result would have followed had Ferguson and McGregor played was rendered meaningless, the side Burley did go with produced a swashbuckling display, James Morrison and Ross McCormack providing width on the flanks with the West Brom man's tendency to drift inside opening up the right wing for the marauding runs of Alan Hutton who belied his lack of action as he drove forward to supply the pass for McCormack to guide home the opener.

The little jig of joy as Burley skipped back to the dug-out told its own story before he was plunged back into the depths of despair as Pami Palmason thundered in a shot which even Gordon couldn't stop, the ball thumping back off the post for Indrioi Sigurdsson to slide home the rebound. It was a shock to Scotland with Gary Caldwell and Steven McManus, another restored to the side, having thwarted the efforts of Eidur Gudjohnsen and Amor Smarason but it took the Scots just 11 minutes to get their noses back in front, McManus nodding on McCormack's corner for Hibs striker Steven Fletcher to guide into the net with his head from three yards.

Morrison had the chance to wrap things up before Iceland mounted that late onslaught only for Gordon to prove his worth with that fantastic double save to put a smile, perhaps only temporarily, back on Burley's face. The Scotland boss said: "I was very pleased. The second game is always the toughest in international football, on Saturday we had done a lot of chasing and worked hard.

"I thought we deserved the three points, there were some exceptional individual performances especially from one or two of our young players which is very encouraging for the future.

"It keeps everything alive which is so important. Forget other issues, that will be dealt with, the most important thing was Scotland."