George Burley has insisted he was never worried about losing his Scotland manager’s post but admitted he was indebted to his players for saving his bacon.

Speculation was rife that Burley faced the chop after Scotland’s 1-0 defeat against Holland saw them fail to qualify for next summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

But the former Ipswich boss is adamant he was never worried that he would be relieved of his duties.

“Fear is not a word I’ve even thought about,” said Burley.

“I was proud of the team coming off the field against Holland even though we didn’t get into the play-offs.

“That was important to me – coming odd the pitch with pride in front of a capacity crowd at Hampden was very important and, thankfully, the players did it and they showed their passion for the country.

“There’s been a lot of speculation and it was important that things were cleared up as quickly as possible.”