Interview: Craig Levein, manager of Scotland’s football team

‘All I can say is that I picked the team I thought was best for the Liechtenstein game’

In the aftermath of a decent 1-1 draw with Slovenia this week, the manager of the national team said he was genuinely perplexed by such accusations, made by McFadden last week in an interview in Scotland on Sunday.

“In such an important game against Liechtenstein I was willing to mess about with some crazy plan just to hang somebody out to dry?” countered Levein. “It’s absolute nonsense. How would I do that? I’d be interested to know how I set up the team to fail. All I can say is that I picked the team I thought was best for the Liechtenstein game. I think everybody accepts that.”

That night in September 2010, the clamour had been for more attacking options and both McFadden and Kris Boyd were given a starting berth. Boyd lasted 66 minutes, McFadden was off at half-time. The spotlight had been on both but neither shone as Scotland laboured to a 2-1 win.

But Levein dismisses any idea that he had somehow placed too much of the onus on their shoulders, and denies they were made scapegoats. “I don’t understand that concept. For me James had handled far bigger and harder situations than that one. I seriously would like to know what that means ‘it was set up to fail’.”

McFadden admitted he played poorly on the night but refuted his performance had been lazy, as Levein had suggested. The player also believes undue pressure had been placed on him and Boyd by the manager in the build-up. “The whole week was set up in a way that the only outcome was for me and Boydy to fail,” McFadden said last week.

Since taking the Scotland job Levein has grown used to his every decision being scrutinised and he long ago accepted that he will never win the backing of the entire nation. But while he can live with that, he is unwilling to plead guilty to the claim that he hung the likes of McFadden out to dry. Because of a serious knee injury the player has not pulled on the dark blue since that night, having managed just 77 minutes of club football in the past 18 months.

While McFadden’s return to the international stage seems some way off, there are other strikers knocking on the door. Ross McCormack has scored regularly for Leeds United this season but was left out for the Slovenia game and went public to voice displeasure.

Levein says at club level he was used to dealing with such gripes.

“That’s football, I got it all the time, guys knocking on my door as a club manager and that’s easy enough to deal with but in international football you don’t get the same opportunity to develop a relationship. Sometimes the player’s only way of venting a frustration is in the papers.”

That side of the job remains a frustration, the fact that fleeting and intermittent get-togethers make it hard for Levein to get to know his players as well as he would like. The recently agreed switches in the international calendar, which will see three friendly dates replaced by one double header, have been welcomed by Levein for that reason.

“If we lose the August, February and the November fixture every second year then I would quite happily do so to get one double-header where I have ten days with the players. We are going to nine double-headers in a two-year period and for me the quality time makes all the difference.” In the meantime he says he can understand some players speaking out.

“I’ve had loads of players at club level who are upset when they are not picked and that doesn’t bother me. I know they are doing that because they are desperate to play. Ross McCormack had a pop last week because he is desperate to play.”

The Leeds player is not the only one to feel that he has staked a valid claim for a call-up. Levein hasn’t ruled it out but prefers to focus on the players he now considers automatic picks. Players like James Morrison, who he insists is not only one of the best of his ilk in Britain, but also a standard bearer for players who don’t meet the born and bred in Scotland criterion some fans would like to see imposed at national level.

“For me James Morrison is as good an attacking player of a certain type as there is in Britain – he can play and run beyond the ball too. Some midfielders will hit the box and others will take part in the game, he will do both. He can pass and run with or without the ball.

“I have been hugely impressed with what he has done over the past couple of years. He is now one of the first names on the team sheet. I think playing international football has helped him. It just helps your confidence. To go from being a squad player to realising you are one of the first names down to play Spain, that does enormous things for your confidence. The Premier League is like playing international football anyway so it’s as much about belief as anything else.”

The assumption was that Morrison only opted for Scotland because he did not believe he had what it took to progress from the England youth level to the full squad. But Levein is quick to defend him.

“You have to be careful about assuming things on how people think. There is no one prouder to see James play for Scotland than his dad. Others, like [Blackpool’s] Matty Phillips weren’t interested in waiting for England either. He is a hungry, ambitious player who is ready to play international football and his [Scottish] grandfather nipped away at him.

“We all make decisions for different reasons and Morrison decided very quickly that he wanted to play for Scotland. Of the guys who have come to us in the same way as Matty Phillips, they have all made it a stronger bridge to walk over by their attitude and the way they play the game. [Jamie] Mackie, [Craig] Mackail-Smith, you know what you’re getting from them – everything they’ve got.

“There are certain people who only want people who are born in Scotland so it’s important these guys have no chink in their armour in terms of their attitude. But I can say to you, without naming names, that I have worked with players who were born in Scotland to Scottish parents and their attitude for me is nowhere near what it needs to be to play for Scotland. Showing how much you care is more important to me than the bloodline.”