I think we all know that there is much more to solving this conundrum than simply replacing the managerial team though, albeit Walter Smith appears to have restored a little order and dignity of late.
Blame culture has become something of an in-phrase these days; there were certainly signs of that happening here with Herr Vogts but surely he was not the man to lead the team out of the doldrums? My objections to Bertie had nothing to do with his nationality. Conversely I have enjoyed seeing the way that many fellow Scots were able to take the former German internationalist into the fold as I feel this is a sign of maturity and security in one's own identity.

Unfortunately the little man came with something of a reputation as a loser in managerial terms. This trend did not alter during his term in Scotland and the time came for a change. The recent predicament of the Scotland team reminds my strongly of the very early seventies. At that time Scotland were floundering and drifting, crowds were thinning and fan enthusiasm on the wane. Along came the ebullient and vociferous Tommy Docherty to change all that. 'The Doc' raised expectation levels and gave the team and supporters it's pride back. He paved the way for successful and entertaining Scotland outfits managed by former Hibs favourite Willie Ormond, and, for a while at least, Ally McLeod.

The great problem though is Walter Smith and his assistant Tommy Burns will not be able to choose from the quality that Tommy had. There are no Billy Bremner's or Denis Law's, no young Kenny Dalglish's or a spine of pure steel such as Jim Holton at the heart of the defence.

This all poses the question of how to produce this talent once more for Scotland's long-term future and here lies the rub for me. That our children no longer play the game to the same extent is an undeniable fact of life. The ones that do play must be shown the right encouragement. I feel that Scotland's system falls down badly on the correct development of youth. The other home nations are not absolved from this either, note the way that even European teams which we might class as 'minnows' unfailingly have a better first touch and closer control on the ball than the home country teams. Why should this be?

I'm a strong believer in youngsters playing the game on half sized pitches. In doing this we create a format for more skilful football where control is paramount and strength and stamina not of the same importance. Those latter factors can be added at the appropriate juncture.

Our clubs have to share the blame for the demise in young talent. Compare the training facilities of most decent sized continental teams with those of our own clubs. Players who have played in the French league such as John Collins, Eric Black and others often sport the same theories that our clubs are very much behind in this area. We should note Hibernian's recent success in nurturing an exciting crop of young players here, but also note that this success was brought about in spite of Hibs' training facilities and not because of them. At the time of writing it seems Hibs are hoping to correct this failing by partnering in a new project at the Jack Kane Centre to form a 'Centre of Excellence'.

Until this problem is addressed at root level, no new manager is likely to give us a Scotland team to be proud of in the near future. So whilst I said a resounding 'yes' to the departure of Mr. Vogts, my fear is that is no Jock Stein, Sir Matt Busby, Bill Shankly or even Brian Clough is available to try and realise our dreams. For surely it's a miracle worker of that magnitude that's needed here.