WE DIDN’T PLAY SCARED FOOTBALL, SAYS SHAUN

THE build-up to Saturday night’s mess in Metz saw Gordon Strachan adopt the curious tactic of branding Scotland a team of ‘unlucky passers’ who play ‘scared football’ against the big teams. If it was a bold attempt to challenge his side to raise their game before facing a French team rated as favourites to lift Euro 2016, it failed miserably. At the end of a dispiriting 3-0 dismantling by Didier Deschamps’ men, who could have scored six, the Scots were described as ‘mentally weak’ by Emmanuel Petit, the midfielder who lifted the World Cup on home soil the last time Scotland graced a major tournament finals. Shaun Maloney rejects the notion that the team had been petrified in the presence of the French superstars like Paul Pogba and Patrice Evra. But the Hull City player admitted his team became imprisoned in their own half by the raw quality of France. ‘It’s not been scared football,’ said Maloney. ‘It’s more that when France were in possession we were working so hard to get the ball. ‘We were running lots to try to get close to them and the deeper we got, when we got in possession we were all in our own half, all pretty close to one another. That’s when we struggled to keep possession. ‘But I don’t think it’s scared football because we were all showing for the ball. It is just that we are out of possession for so long and when we get possession it is difficult to keep it. It’s a vicious circle. ‘You play against the real elite international teams and I think the French are, at this present time, probably one of the favourites going into the Euros. You see their squad and when you play against them you realise it is a step up in quality. It wasn’t too pleasant to play that first half. You could see France were an excellent side and that we struggled to deal with them.’ Maloney (left) hopes it is remembered that the two defeats were end-of-season friendlies, with the real action coming when the Road to Russia starts with qualifiers in September. But he warned his teammates they must not fear the crippling hard work that now lies ahead. ‘Do I think there will be heavy flak for our performances against Italy and France? No, I don’t think there will be that,’ he said. ‘It is two friendlies at the end of the season and you have to take it that way. ‘You can take it the negative way too, I suppose. But the other way to take it is that in pre-season with your club we are going to have to work very, very hard to try to bridge the gap between the elite teams and us.’