THIS may be a first but we are consigning the Scotland manager to the Bootroom, not for anything he has done, but for what he represents - in this case, the optimistic-to-thepoint-of-delusional hopes of the nation.

We knew where we were with Berti Vogts - rock bottom - and we could live with that.

But since the appointment of a manager who isn't a complete buffoon, some of us have allowed those little nagging doubts to take hold - the ones that say, "Maybe the national team isn't that bad. All we need is a bit of old-fashioned canniness to turn things around." Alas, there are no quick fixes in this situation - it could quite probably get a lot worse before it gets better.

So, to protect the nation's collective sanity, it's the Bootroom for you, Wattie.

Although, if we could just get a wee run of luck against the Italians . . .