Kris Boyd urges SFA to give Strachan new contract

KRIS Boyd believes that SFA chief executive Stewart Regan and his Professional Game Board will have taken leave of their senses should they fail to offer Gordon Strachan the opportunity to extend his stay in charge of the national team.

Kris Boyd: Huge fan of Strachan. Picture: Steve welsh

The Kilmarnock striker played under Strachan at Middlesbrough and argues that the 58-year-old is single-handedly responsible for Scotland’s rise up the Fifa rankings.

His contract is due to expire following the final Group D qualifying match against Gibraltar in Faro on 11 October but Boyd insists that, even if Strachan fails to end the national side’s 18-year exile from the finals of major competitions, he should be asked to stay on for the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.

“I think we are all in agreement,” he said. “Everybody who is Scottish is going to games with a smile on their face again because they like what they are seeing. So it would be pretty crazy if you don’t get it sorted out pretty soon. The hierarchy of Scottish football will know what they are doing.

“They might not have sorted out a contract, but, behind the scenes, they will probably have spoken to Gordon to see where he wants to be and where he wants to go.

“You never know – Gordon might have looked at this as an opportunity a couple of years ago to come back and prove to himself and everybody else that he is still a really good manager and that what happened at Middlesbrough was a one-off.

“He has turned everything round and now everyone is speaking about Scotland in a positive way again.

“Over the years, he has shown that he is one of the best Scottish managers.”

Asked how much credit Strachan deserves for the reversal of fortunes enjoyed by the Scotland team, Boyd replied: “All of it, I would say. You now have players turning up believing they can win games of football. All he speaks about is about how we can win the game.

“Obviously, he’s also working on stopping the opposition behind the scenes, but we have an array of talent going forward.

“I’ve seen Gordon’s training. I’ve seen the way he works his teams. Everything is geared towards winning the game rather than preparing to lose it.

“He doesn’t depend on set-pieces or things like that. If you look at the squad, it isn’t the biggest, but what we do have is people who can pick up the ball in areas of the pitch and cause teams problems.

“That hasn’t always been the case for Scotland but now we definitely have options in wide areas and through the middle.”

• Kris Boyd was speaking at a William Hill media event. William Hill is a proud supporter of Scotland.