George Burley has been sacked as head coach of the Scotland national
team following the dismal 3-0 friendly defeat by Wales at the weekend.
The 53-year-old leaves his post with immediate effect, along with
assistants Terry Butcher and Paul Hegarty, with Scotland having won
just three times in 14 games under Burley's charge.
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Burley took charge of the national team in January 2008, signing a
contract which ran until 2012, but he has lasted little more than 18
months in his position.
SFA chief executive Gordon Smith confirmed: "It is with regret that we announce George Burley's departure.
"The decision was taken after a meeting with the board of directors
and, subsequently, the national coach. The board was in unanimous
agreement.
"It should be stressed that the decision was not a direct
consequence of Saturday's unacceptable 3-0 defeat to Wales, but rather
a realisation that the expectations of the supporters, the Scottish FA
and George himself were not being met.
"I should point out that the Scottish FA stands by its decision to
give the national coach our full support despite failure to qualify for
the World Cup play-offs.
"It would have been negligent not to have given George every
opportunity to rebuild and revitalise the squad in light of the
improved performances in the last two qualifiers against FYR Macedonia
and Holland.
"Unfortunately, the adverse results in the two subsequent friendly
matches against Japan and Wales provided confirmation that the
improvement could not be sustained."
Source: DSG