After the stepping down of Gordon Strachan in February, Scotland decided to bet on Alex McLeish for a second stint in charge of the national side. Yet after only two wins in eight games, they seem to be regressing even further backwards than ever before.
Former Scotland international Kris Boyd believes his country will only continue to take backwards steps so long as McLeish remains in charge.
Boyd told 'Sky Sports -The Debate': "The big problem for Alex right now is the amount of call-offs, people not wanting to turning up. I was one of the first at the start to say I didn't think Gordon should have went at the time. The squad was healthy, there was competition for places like what England have right now."
The Kilmarnock forward continued: "People were turning up with a smile on their face, enjoying it. Now there are people pulling out left, right and centre, which is a worry. When you get close to qualifying for a major competition, like towards the end with Gordon, a lot of players believed this long wait could be over. You always want to be part of that, to hopefully get on the plane if you qualify."
Boyd then proceeded by suggesting the more experienced players would rather have time off: "It has gone backwards since Gordon left. The ageing players are like, 'why would I want to go because I'm just wasting my time'. They can go and spend it with their family and enjoy the time away from football. That's worrying."
He concluded: "I don't see a lot of youngsters coming through either. What there is is a lot of inexperienced players aged 24 to 26, picking up their first caps."
Scotland travel to face Albania on Saturday, before hosting Israel on Tuesday; both games are a must-win for their UEFA Nations League hopes.