Mulgrew: ‘Progress still being made with Strachan’

HAVING ensured Gordon Strachan’s reign as Scotland manager began on a positive note by scoring the only goal of last month’s friendly against Estonia, Charlie Mulgrew insists it is too soon to declare it was a false start.

Any renewed optimism and buoyancy surrounding the international team in the wake of Strachan’s appointment as Craig Levein’s successor seemed to disintegrate on Friday night as the 2-1 defeat by Wales at Hampden left Scotland adrift at the bottom of their World Cup qualifying group. But despite the disappointment felt throughout the squad in the wake of their latest setback, Mulgrew says Strachan has already had an influence on the players under his command which will bear fruit in the months ahead.

“It’s still very early days under the new manager,” said the 27-year-old. “He doesn’t have a magic wand and he will need time to get it right. Every manager needs time and at international level, he doesn’t have us every day to work with. He’s not got us for a long time when we do get together, so it will take time to get it right. The players have every belief in him. He has brought in his own ideas and he has a different way of playing. The manager was hurting like the rest of us after the Wales game, but already our focus is on Serbia on Tuesday.

“We still believe progress is being made with the new manager and we are progressing slowly under him. We will keep listening to the manager, taking on board his ideas and giving our all.”

After collecting his first five caps in friendly internationals for Scotland, last Friday night saw Mulgrew make his first competitive appearance for his country. The Celtic defender looked to have made a vital contribution to the cause with his delivery of the corner kick for Grant Hanley to head the Scots in front but it counted for little as the Welsh hit back in the second half.

“It was extremely tough to take,” added Mulgrew. “We didn’t get off to a great start in the match but we got the goal right on half-time and it gave us something to hold on to. Unfortunately though, it didn’t happen.

“It’s hard to say what went wrong and we will need to spend time looking at the game again. We didn’t press them at all, but we’d got the goal and I felt we started the second half well.

“I couldn’t see their penalty claim from where I was but I’ve been told it was inside the box. They scored and it was hard for us after that with ten men.”

Mulgrew concedes that thoughts are already turning to the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign but believes Scotland cannot allow themselves to completely disregard the significance of their remaining five Group A matches in the doomed 2014 World Cup bid.

“I don’t know what the mindset will be but perhaps there will be an eye on the next campaign now,” he said. “But we have got to remain positive for the rest of this one. We have to approach every game as though we are going to win it. There is nothing else we can do. We need to give 100 per cent because we are representing the country.”

Scotland’s prospects of claiming a maiden Group A win against Serbia in Novi Sad tomorrow night have not been helped by the loss of Steven Fletcher with the ankle injury he suffered in the opening moments against Wales. “It was disappointing to lose Steven so early because he is a big player for us,” added Mulgrew. “Kenny Miller came on and worked very hard. Whoever starts up front on Tuesday will be the same. I’m sure the manager will have plans in regard to how we approach it. We need to remain focused and positive.”