Strachan is full of praise for Fletcher

It is three years, one month and eight days since Craig Levein sent Scotland out in a 4-6-0 formation to face the Czech Republic in Prague.

Games, managers and campaigns all come and go but the memory of the notorious set-up lingers on.

While Levein lasted until 2012 and the early collapse of the bid to go to next year’s World Cup before he was sacked, many of the Tartan Army still maintain he was a dead man walking from that night on.

Addressing the flaws of the predecessor is often a key concern when it comes to managerial appointments.

And in the wake of Friday night’s goalless draw against the United States, it was intriguing to hear current boss Gordon Strachan insist his determination not simply to always play a striker but to always have MORE than one up.

“We are never, ever going to play a thing called a lone striker,” he said, when questioned about Steven Fletcher. “You have never seen that yet from me and you won’t.

“Steven can play in that role, certainly. He has got that ability in the air and takes the ball in like a really good player, like he and the ball are one. But we want never to be in a situation where he is on his own.

“That is because it is not an easy thing for anyone to do. Playing one up front sounds as if the only thing you’re doing is defending.

“We don’t want to be like that and there are ways of making sure you do it. We’ve got to try and get people round him, different people from different angles.

“Some people have said we’re playing a 4-4-2. I’m saying it’s not really. If you look at the USA match, Steven wasn’t on his own the last 25 minutes, he was surrounded by players.

“He actually probably shouldn’t really have been because sometimes you need for him to have a bit of space to play in.”

Fletcher didn’t score but set up Scotland’s best chance on the night when playing in Craig Conway.

“I think he did well,” said the national coach. “He makes a difference to us. But if we can be sharper with passes into him, we will get better, I am sure of that.”

While acknowledging the entertainment value wasn’t high against the Americans, Strachan was more than happy with the first part of a friendly double header which will conclude with Tuesday’s away game in Norway.

“That’s Croatia, England, Belgium and USA we have played and I think it’s wise to take on teams like that and be tested,” he said.

“You want a challenge and when we arrange the next friendlies, that will still be our criteria.

“I enjoyed the USA game. We could have won against a team that’s won 15 of their last 16 games, which is not bad going. I think if we had a record like that we’d be more than happy.

“There were one or two wee things I thought: ‘We need to do better at that’. Not because they don’t want to do it, they just need to be aware of that.

“I think when we get around the edge of the box we need to be a wee bit better looking after the ball.

“And we blocked off space to the play. If you’re playing against people that physical and that strong, don’t play against them let them come and find you.

“We had a big back four out there, which was handy. But from middle to front, we need to be sharp. If you’re playing against someone who is physically stronger, then you can’t take them on at that.

“Overall, the aim has to be to keep progressing and keep trying to in games because doing so makes everyone in the camp feel good about themselves.

“That’s all we can do.”