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Craig Levein. Andrew Milligan/PA Wire/Press Association Images
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Scotland boss Levein exit reports sadden Charlie Adam

“Can’t believe the Scottish papers got what they wanted,” the Stoke man says as the Scottish boss looks to be gone.

SCOTLAND MIDFIELDER Charlie Adam said the press were to blame as both the BBC and Sky Sports reported this evening that Craig Levein had left his position as manager of the national side.

There was no immediate confirmation from the Scottish Football Association that former Scotland defender Levein had quit his post but there had been widespread speculation his job was on the line following a record of just three wins in 12 competitive matches in charge.

Scotland, who haven’t played in a major tournament since the 1998 World Cup in France, are also bottom of their qualifying group for Brazil 2014.

However, Adam, who plays for Premier League club Stoke, used Twitter to say Levein had been the victim of a media witch-hunt.

“On my way back to hear Craig Levein has gone. Unbelievable. Can’t believe the Scottish papers got what they wanted.”

But Levein, who took over from George Burley in 2009, revealed last week he’d held talks regarding his future with SFA chief executive Stewart Regan and president Campbell Ogilvie. The seven-man SFA board were meeting at their Hampden Park headquarters in Glasgow on Monday, and if Levein has gone, the officials are likely to face fresh criticism regarding the timing of the manager’s departure.

Levein was due to name his squad for next week’s friendly against Luxembourg tomorrow. Recent defeats by both Wales and Belgium had piled the pressure on Levein. But the scale of the problem confronting Scottish football is that any successor to Levein will be the eighth Scotland manager already this century.

Former Scotland midfielder Gordon Strachan, currently out-of-work, has long been tipped as the favourite to replace Levein. Strachan, who played under Alex Ferguson at both Aberdeen and Manchester United, has previously been in charge of Glasgow giants Celtic and has also managed in the English Premier League at Coventry and Southampton.

- © AFP, 2012

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