Gordon Strachan was unveiled as the new Scotland manager yesterday and said his players should aim to repay the loyalty of their world-famous fans after 15 years without qualifying for a major tournament.

The former Scotland and Manchester United midfielder, who won 50 caps in the 1980s and 1990s, replaces Craig Levein after his sacking in November.

“The fans are more famous than the squad now. They’re famous all over the world. So I want to give something back to them,” Strachan told a news conference at Hampden Park when asked about the unwavering support of the ‘Tartan Army’.

“We want to make a major tournament now,” added the 55-year-old ex-Celtic boss, who will get a first look at his new team on February 6 for a home friendly against Estonia.

Strachan will take over the reins of the national side for the remainder of their disappointing 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign and will attempt to guide Scotland to the 2016 European Championship in France where 24 teams, not 16, will compete.

Scotland have not made a major tournament since the 1998 World Cup, also in France, and are bottom of 2014 World Cup qualifying Group A with two points after four matches, eight behind leaders Belgium and Croatia.

Strachan, who last managed Middlesbrough for an unhappy spell in 2009 and 2010, identified finding a system that suited the players as vitally important to Scotland’s chances of improving.

“It’s not far away. I’ve named a team that I’d like to play like but that’s not going to happen right away,” said Strachan.

“Look at Man United, their system is to win games of football.

“So we’ll try and win games of football,” he added, hinting that his preferred system was the classic 4-4-2 formation.