Source: FOOTYMAD
Mistakes WIll Have To Be Eradicated Before September
Having his players available as a squad for the Nations Cup should help Scotland manager Craig Levein as he looks ahead to EURO2012 qualifiying games in September The Carling Nations Cup is lost and the lessons will have to be learnt. Scotland manager Craig Levein and his backroom staff will have to look at what worked and what didn't as the prepare for the next gathering of the national squad in August for the friendly against Denmark at Hampden. That game should provide an opportunity for getting the messages through to players before the next round of games which matter, the EURO2012 qualifying group games against the Czech Republic on 3 September and Lithuania three days later, both to be played at Hampden. Looking back on the final game, which would have brought silverware to celebrate his 18 months in charge of the national side, Levein said: "Frustration is the first word that jumps into my mind. We played the game in a manner that would normally result in at least a draw, possibly a win. We played well tonight. Coming across here and playing the Republic at the their home ground wasn't an easy thing to do but for long spells of the game we were the better team. We created enough chances tonight to win. You are lucky if you get two or three chances in international football sometimes and we had double that. Normally that would be enough. It wasn't to be tonight but I have great admiration for the players and the way they have handled themselves this week. They have given absolutely everything they had at the end of a long season and I am sure the supporters will have been very appreciative of their efforts tonight." Levein was also disappointed the Kenny Miller penalty decision late in the game went against his side and he refused to criticise goalkeeper Allan McGregor for Keane's goal. He said: "I think it was a penalty but sometimes you don't get them. Hopefully that one will be saved for the Euros in September or October. Allan made a mistake but we shouldn't have let him (Keane) run so far and have space to shoot. What pleased me was the efforts to recover from that mistake. We went right to the final whistle and made every effort to win the match."
