Callum McGregor has clarified his alleged clash with coach James McFadden after Scotland's embarrassing defeat in Kazakhstan.
The Celtic star offered a valid explanation amid claims of a bust-up at the end with Scotland number three McFadden as sub Scott McTominay, who didn’t speak to the media afterwards, headed straight for the dressing room.
McGregor wanted all the players to acknowledge the 650-strong Tartan Army but McTominay made a swift exit.
It came as the Kazakhs, who didn’t win a single game in 10 in their last World Cup qualifying campaign, partied on the plastic pitch at the Astana Arena under new boss Michal Bilek.
Asked if it was a spat, McGregor added: “No no, it was just frustration. It was nothing personal, I didn’t even shout to James.
“One of the boys (McTominay) had gone in early and I wanted us all to go over and clap the fans. As captain, I felt we should go to the fans who had spent a lot of money to come here and support the nation.
“I thought we should get everyone together to say thank you for coming. It was nothing to do with James, I was just trying to get everyone together to go to the fans.
“It’s important we show everyone we’re still together as a nation and that we’re going to try and put this right.”
McGregor struggled to hide the shame at one of the worst results in the history of the Scotland team.
The midfielder went from the ultimate high of being named captain for the first time to the desperate low of a defeat against the lowly Kazakhs that wrecks our European Championship campaign.
McGregor admits his cheeks were burning red at the results and display against a team ranked 77 places below the Scots as Alex McLeish hangs onto his job by a thread.
He said: “It’s embarrassing in terms of performance and result. Those of us who have been here before and played Astana know it is a difficult place to come.
“But everyone will be looking at this as a game on paper we should have won and it should have been comfortable.
“However, there are never any givens in football and having played so many games now I realise that,
“You’ve got to be at it and be on the front foot and start the game aggressively to make it an easier night for yourselves.
“But when you don’t do that anyone can cause you problem and credit to Kazakhstan because they did exactly that.
“It was really poor. We didn’t start the game well enough. When you come here you’ve got to give yourself half a chance by getting through the first 10 or 15 minutes, but we conceded twice and that killed us.
“We never really recovered from that at all. There is not much else to say, it’s just so disappointing. We were trying to come here on a high and start the campaign on a positive.
“When you get hit with a result like that, it’s so disappointing. Everyone in there is devastated.
“We can only hold our hands up and try to put it right in the next couple of games.
“It also shows you how quickly things can change in football. On Wednesday I was buzzing, getting the chance to captain my country with everybody sending text messages through.
“To go to such a low with the performance and result, it just shows you how cruel football can be sometimes.”
Kazakhstan 3 Scotland 0 as Alex McLeish's side suffer humiliating defeat – 5 talking points
Scotland were on the back foot after conceding a cheap opener after only six minutes and lying down and out four minutes later when the Kazakhs punished another error by Graeme Shinnie to double their lead.
Their third, early in the second half, only added insult to injury on a night in which no-one in the Scotland ranks deserved to emerge with pass marks.
McGregor said: “After losing those early goals, try to steady the game and get back into it. There is not much else you can do, other than try to rally the boys and get them forward up the pitch and try to create a couple of chances.
“We actually created a couple and if we had taken maybe one we would get back into the game quickly. That didn’t happen, and we were left with a mountain to climb when the third one went in.
“It’s a horrendous place for us to come, Scottish sides have never won a game here. I was mindful of that going into the game, I know how difficult the atmosphere can be.
Callum McGregor and James McFadden in frustrated on-pitch bust up following Kazakhstan humiliation
“That’s why I was trying to place the onus on trying to get through the first 15 minutes to give ourselves a chance, but their boy hit a worldy finish and we switched off for the second.
“We’ve got to be positive for Sunday in San Marino, dust ourselves down to get a good result that can get the campaign back on track right away.
“Of course we feel for the manager, but it’s a collective. The players didn’t do ourselves justice at all and we’ve got to take that on the chin.
“We’re a tight group and although we’re not disregarding the disappointment we’ve got to go again on Sunday to show everyone we have half a chance in this qualification group.”
