GEORGE BURLEY still has every faith in Scotland's ability to qualify for the World Cup, but admits the task is already far more difficult after only one match.
Ilcho Naumoski's goal after only five minutes proved to be decisive in Saturday's Group Nine opener in Macedonia, meaning the Scots now head to Iceland on Wednesday in desperate need of a win to kick-start the campaign.
Burley's own record also lo
oks far from impressive at the moment, with no wins from four games after succeeding Alex McLeish back in January. "The friendly games were a build-up," he said. "This game was a test for us. In the first half we never got to grips with a difficult game but in the second half we did, so we will build from there.
"We've got seven games left and we take it on. We still have the possibility to qualify but it makes it tougher. It's going to be a very competitive group and teams will take points off each other. Macedonia will make it hard for any team in those conditions so I think it will be very closely contested, like it was on Saturday."
Burley was more than satisfied with the second-half performance in Skopje and believes the reason for a lethargic start to the match was simple. "We conceded a goal after five minutes," he said.
"It wasn't a free-kick but it was given and we were 1-0 down. It was different conditions, the pitch was hard, they are a decent side at home and they put us under pressure."
Burley is well aware Scotland will have to come out of the blocks quickly in Reykjavik in a bid to avoid a repeat of Saturday's outcome.
He added: "We had a chat at half-time and I felt we were going a bit deep, we weren't putting them under enough pressure, we wanted to get up the pitch a bit higher. We did that and they responded well. It was a hard game, especially after conceding early, but we pushed on in the second half. When you are away to quality opposition you don't want to concede an early goal, which we did."
Burley is keen to make the most of his more talented players but admits he could tinker with his system ahead of the Iceland clash.
"We are playing with our best players and trying to get the best out of the squad," he said. "We look at it for every game, Iceland is a different game, and we might vary it slightly.
"We are trying to get the best out of the players and they all gave it everything, especially in the second half.
"So we will be looking to try to take the second-half performance into the Iceland game and hopefully pick up three points."
The Kenny Miller-James McFadden partnership has now been deployed twice in the Burley era and has not yielded a goal. The Scotland boss claimed he was encouraged by opportunities that were carved out in Macedonia but will be well aware Craig Gordon had the better saves to make on the day.
"I thought we had a couple of chances," said Burley. "We are trying to get the best attacking system and that's something we will keep looking at."
McFadden has assured the Tartan Army his partnership with Kenny Miller will click soon.
He insisted: "The goals will come. I enjoyed playing alongside Kenny, even though the conditions were difficult and we couldn't link as much.
"Hopefully, it will click soon and we will start scoring goals."
McFadden admits Scotland are under pressure already and that nothing less than a victory in Reykjavik will do.
"It will probably be too cold for us in Iceland!" joked the Birmingham striker.
"It will give us the chance to play our own game and not have to worry about the conditions.
"If that had been the case in Macedonia then we would have won the game. But we didn't and we just have to march on to Iceland and try to keep positive.
"We just need to win the next seven games.
"It was very disappointing in Macedonia. I think we deserved to take something from the game but that's just the way it goes and now we have to pick ourselves up for Iceland.
"We created chances in the second half and, despite the heat, we kept going and never gave up. We were right in it until the end."
As far as McFadden is concerned, two factors prevented the Scots from returning from Skopje with at least a point – the referee and the stifling conditions.
"It was difficult, you are more used to that type of heat on a sunbed," he said.
"But it was the same for them and we managed to keep going, tried to pass the ball and create chances.
"It was hot and you couldn't keep running about, you had to get a breather and then get back in.
"As soon as you started running, it was hard to breathe and hard to swallow, it was burning your throat.
"The conditions were difficult and it was maybe deliberate to play the game at that time of day.
"It shouldn't have happened but it did and there are no excuses. Maybe on a cooler day, it would have been an easier game for us and definitely a different result."
McFadden felt he was denied a "stonewall" penalty when tripped by goalkeeper Petar Milosevski in the second half on a day where both nations were unhappy with the decisions made by inexperienced referee Pavel Kralovec.
"It was a penalty," McFadden insisted. "It was a stonewaller and you expect at this level for those decisions to be given. But it wasn't and the show must go on.
"Maybe Kenny could have had a penalty as well just before me and I think we could maybe have got a few more decisions."
Kralovec was banned for six games by the Czech Football Association last December for a poor performance in a league match and has limited experience at this level.
McFadden added: "It's not really for me to say whether the ref should have been in charge or not. It was a stonewall penalty and it was the wrong decision but unfortunately they are allowed to make mistakes and it has cost us."
Burley branded Scotland "outstanding" in his post-match press conference and McFadden revealed there were no complaints from the manager in the dressing room either after the defeat.
"He just told us to take the positives from the game," the Birmingham striker said. "We kept going and we tried to play and created some chances.
"If we had taken them, it would have been a different game.
"I think they got lucky with their goal. If they hadn't scored then, I couldn't see them scoring for the rest of the game.
"He didn't say anything about being disappointed with the first-half performance. He just told us to keep going – which we did."
The full article contains 1187 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
