McArdle makes case to be full-time Scotland boss

If it were a game of tennis, the ball would be in the Scottish FA's court.

In the aftermath of a narrow defeat to the Netherlands, interim head coach Michael McArdle said he would "be ready right away" should the SFA decide to prolong his time at the helm.

Since being announced as interim boss last month for the opening two games of the women's Nations League, he hasn't given an awful lot away on that front. Until now.

After naming his first squad - which included six uncapped players and omitted 10 players from the previous camp - he insisted his "full focus was to serve" his country for Austria away and the Netherlands at home, and he hadn't given a thought to taking on the position permanently.

Now the games have been and gone though, his reply to the same proposition was that he's "ready" should the opportunity present itself, but it's one outwith his control and one he's received no indication of.

Despite suffering back-to-back defeats, the SFA's head of women's elite football has "loved" the experience - or perhaps audition - of taking charge of the national team.

McArdle was handed something of an unenviable task, having to pick up a Scotland side who had been battered and bruised and put through a painful - but necessary - post-mortem after failing to qualify for Euro 2025.

But, instead of inheriting a squad full of scars, he opted to be brave and bold, calling up youngsters he'd worked with across various youth levels.

A forward-thinking, yet eyebrow-raising decision, which threatened to be thrown back in his face following Friday's flat 1-0 defeat in Austria.

The 45-year-old insisted "blind steps" had been taken, and there were plenty of positives - not least three debuts being made at Josko Arena.

He doubled down against the Dutch, dropping Bayern Munich's Sam Kerr, Rangers' Chelsea Cornet, Angel City's Claire Emslie and Tottenham Hotspur's Martha Thomas from the starting XI.

For 55 minutes or so at Hampden, it was something of a masterstroke. Yes, the Scots were penned in by their superior visitors, but they led through Emma Lawton's fierce strike on her second international start.

Even when Andries Jonkers side deservedly turned the game on its head, there was far from an implosion.

Celtic full-back Lawton, a worthy player of the match, continued to press and probe an uber-talented Dutch team, while Eilidh Adams - leading the line from the off for the first time - was a handful.

In the time between both games, McArdle stressed the importance of his experience players to stand up and be counted. And while there was a marked improvement, it was his inexperienced heads who impressed again.

Perhaps it's down to their "lack of burden from previous experiences" as the head-coach said pre-Netherlands, or their eagerness to "take risks", as he cited post-match.

A key quality that, due to the lack of it, contributed to Scotland's failure in Finland. For too long, it's been all too safe.

With a severe lack of experience at this level, appointing McArdle could be viewed as a gamble, but he's showed his hand.

Now it's down to the powers-that-be to play theirs.