Scotland's Burley gets Butcher backing

George Burley will not resign as Scotland boss and sacking him would be "negligent", according to assistant manager Terry Butcher.

Burley is fighting to keep his job after failing to lead the country into the World Cup play-offs and faces a crunch meeting with his Scottish FA next week.

Number two Butcher insists there were enough signs of progress during the Group Nine campaign for the 53-year-old to be given a second chance.

Scotland's next match is a friendly against Japan in Yokohama on October 10 and Butcher hopes Burley will still be in charge.

"Changing the manager will not change the fortunes of the country for the better," the Inverness boss told The Herald.

"Those last two games showed there is definitely a group of players who can be moulded into something really exciting.

"Absolutely I am going to say he deserves another campaign. I hope he will get it because there are more positives now than 18 months ago. He will not resign; that is certain. I might not be on the plane, because I have a game with Inverness, but I fully expect George to be on it. I would be amazed if it was decided his time is up."

Butcher believes Burley's bid to secure qualification was littered with unfortunate incidents both on and off the field. But he insisted the former Ipswich and Hearts boss had the backing of both the players and fans.

"It took time to get the message over. People will say this or that but there have been mitigating circumstances and the kind of things no manager should have to go through. You have to be on the inside to see what he has done and what he wants to do," he said.