Levein rules out resigning

Scotland manager Craig Levein is refusing to resign after the 2-0 defeat by Belgium on Tuesday night.

Christian Benteke and Vincent Kompany scored the goals that put Levein closer to the edge, in a defeat that leaves the Scots eight points adrift of Belgium and Croatia at the top of Group A, leaving qualification for World Cup 2014 in doubt.

But asked if he would consider his position as Scotland manager, Levein told reporters: “Not at all. I’m very proud to be the Scotland national team manager and I want to continue to do so.

“I’ve been in football for long enough to understand when the players are trying at their maximum and they’re doing their best for each other and for the team – and they did that tonight and on Friday night (against Wales).

“They didn’t have any energy left at the end of the match and they did everything possible to get a result for Scotland tonight.

“I’ve seen again tonight a group of players who are determined and hungry and desperate to do well for Scotland. As long as that is the case, I’m quite happy to be working with these players.

“I want to stay on as Scotland manager, the rest isn’t up to me. I’ll continue to do the job to the best of my ability and we’ll see what happens.”

One highlight over the last few days for Scotland has been the return of captain Darren Fletcher who has spoken in defence of his under-fire boss.

“I hope so (that Levein still has a future with the team), yes. I really hope so. The players believe in him and we hope so,” the Manchester United midfielder told BBC Scotland.

“Qualifying from this group now looks very difficult but we can still progress as a team.

“We tried to win the game (against Belgium). It was always going to be difficult. If we did that (attack) we have lost five or six, trust me.

“The damage was done in the first games before we came out here (draws against Serbia and Macedonia).”