article: He stood on the touchline after the final whistle in Trnava to make sure his players acknowledged the away fans, and then applauded them himself, but the support's response to the final whistle was a damning verdict. There was plenty of ire at Hampden on Saturday, too, when two points were discarded against Lithuania, and it is the weight of public opinion that will bear most heavily on the mind and status of the national team's manager. The departures of his immediate predecessors - Craig Levein and George Burley - felt necessary, that's why the decisions were made. Strachan banked a significant amount of goodwill during the first half of the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, but it has dwindled markedly since then. In 29 days, Scotland travel to Wembley to face England, and during that time there will be reflection, calls for recrimination, and eventually an element of resolution. The immediate reactions to the 3-0 defeat in Slovakia were emotional, but there is a growing body of evidence from Strachan's time in charge. Some of the noise ought to be dismissed. It is absurd to suggest that Strachan does not want to be in the job. He may have spent time after the failure to reach the Euro finals in France assessing his willingness to lead the squad for another campaign, but he wanted to carry on; he is a passionate Scot and a committed coach. He cares for his players, which explains some of his exaggerated post-match comments. He no doubt described Chris Martin's display against Lithuania as "outstanding" because he had already made the decision to start Steven Fletcher against Slovakia and did not want the Fulham striker to be the scapegoat for Saturday's 1-1 draw - but supporters have grown weary of the deflection tactics. Media playback is not supported on this device The players remain committed to the manager, while some of his predecessors have struggled to hold squads together, but that is not always enough. It should also be acknowledged that a new manager would not suddenly find himself working with a different squad of more talented players. Even so, there are decisions that Strachan has consistently made that warrant scrutiny, not least because his position is now under question. If the Scotland support no longer believes in the manager, then it does not matter if he still believes in his work with the players. Since defeating the Republic of Ireland at Celtic Park in November 2014, Scotland have played nine competitive matches and won only three of them - against Gibraltar, twice, and Malta. There have been defeats to Germany, Georgia and Slovakia, and damaging draws away to the Republic of Ireland and at home to Poland and Lithuania. Under Strachan, Scotland have failed to deliver a defining victory over a leading side in their group, or when it was needed most. At the critical moment, there has been a collapse of will. In Dublin, in Tbilisi and in Trvana, Scotland have performed poorly, failing to assert themselves, to play with confidence or poise. When Strachan's
summary: The jeers of the Scotland fans will still be ringing in Gordon Strachan's ears.