Jefferies agrees with De Boer's view that Scottish problem is long term

Published on Thursday 10 September 2009 22:52

KILMARNOCK manager Jim Jefferies agrees with Ronald de Boer that Scotland's qualification woes run deeper than George Burley's failure to reach the 2010 World Cup in South Africa next summer.

De Boer watched his Dutch countrymen carve out their eighth Group 9 victory in a row with a 1-0 win at Hampden to leave Scotland looking back to the 1998 World Cup in France for their last appearance in the finals of a major tournament.

Burley's position will be reviewed by the Scottish Football Association next week but De Boer, who played for Rangers between 2000 and 2004, insists it is youth football in Scotland, with its reliance on height and strength over technique, which underpins our poor performances at national level.

"I don't think anyone can blame George, he was a bit unlucky," the Kilmarnock manager said. "I don't see any reason to change it, they should stick with him. The players gave everything against Holland and you couldn't have asked any more in terms of commitment. George didn't get a lot of breaks with injuries and things went against him at times. But the trouble is deeper than that. You have a set of players, you can't say that they are not committed to play for Scotland, but the bottom line is that they are short.

"We need to find a way to improve on where they are short. Maybe the Scottish manager has a wee bit to play in that, but it really shouldn't be the case – it should come from the bottom up.

"He (De Boer) made valid points. It's all about what you do when in control of a football. As he said, you look at Iniesta, Messi and Xavi, they are not big strong people, but they can handle a football. Look at Holland in tight areas, the touch, the movement and technique of their players. Holland is not a much bigger country than us, their facilities will probably be better but their climate is the same. They are producing players and so we have to look at what they do.

"I'm sure over the years we have gone over there and looked at what they do. Whether we are not implementing it or going about it the wrong way, I don't know.

"But we go to youth games and look at the top teams and they all want to win cups, so they get the strong players at 12, 13, 14 and it makes a massive difference. But how many of those players who have physique and size come through?

"They can't see the wood for the trees, but we have had this discussion time and again.

"You keep talking about it, but nothing seems to be improving and we have to ask why it is not improving."