Butcher: Burley deserves respect

Burley found himself in the firing line after losing his first competitive match with defeat in Macedonia in the qualifying campaign opener on Saturday.

But Butcher said: "George deserves a lot of respect and probably hasn't been shown that for what he's done as a manager and for what he is as a person as well."

He added: "He's dignified, he's courteous and there's a lot of steel about him, which not many people have seen at the moment but I'm sure that'll come out eventually."

The former Southampton manager suffered another blow on Tuesday when Lee McCulloch quit international football just hours after reports claimed the Rangers midfielder did not want to be considered for selection while Burley was in charge.

The Scotland boss has also had to cope with rumours other players are unhappy. But, on the eve of another crucial qualifier in Iceland, assistant manager Butcher insisted: "I think the players are a bit bemused at what's been happening.

"There has been a feeding frenzy but the players and staff don't have any influence over that. George is a great gaffer to work for. He's been so positive.

"I would have been ringing a few people up and saying a few words down but that's me and George isn't like that."