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Should he stay or should he go? Finishing third in that group was clearly a failure so it's time for a change of manager.

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Byline: by PETER JARDINE

NORWAY nudged past Scotland into second place in Group Nine on Wednesday night in front of a sparsely-populated Ullevaal Stadium. While there were empty seats in Oslo, there were only empty promises back in Glasgow.

That so few Norwegians seemed enthused enough to cheer their nation's efforts merely added insult to Scotland's injury. Yet they succeeded where we failed. Beaten by one of the Low Countries, we were the ones left depressed.

Without a doubt, then, this marriage of inconvenience with George Burley must be annulled.

Losing to Holland was no shame in itself, but taking so few points from a qualifying group that had offered so much room for optimism should be the primary topic under review on the SFA's managerial report card.

Burley insisted before the group began that 17 points might be an achievable target. He changed tack last week, claiming he deliberately set the bar high.

Scotland harvested just 10 points from eight matches and, despite widespread talk that he is finally getting a grip on the job and his squad, the Tartan Army witnessed an horrendous campaign.

When George Peat addressed the media last Thursday at West of Scotland cricket ground in Glasgow, there wasn't much margin for misinterpretation.

The SFA president did not say that missing out on the World Cup would...

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