Vogts defends time with Scotland

Berti Vogts came in for much criticism during his Scotland reign

Former Scotland manager Berti Vogts believes he should be given some of the credit for the side's improved results following his departure.

"I know people laughed at some of the things I did when I was there," Vogts told the News of the World.

"But maybe we will all be laughing together when Scotland are in Austria or Switzerland next summer.

"In my time with Scotland, I brought in a lot of new players and that always makes getting good results difficult."

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Vogts suggests the players who emerged under his leadership and then flourished under Walter Smith then Alex McLeish could be Scotland internationals "for 10 years or more".

The German, now manager of Nigeria, had two-and-a-half years in charge of Scotland before resigning in November 2004.

He had given debuts to many current internationals and does not accept criticism of his reign.

"My record in competitive qualifying games was good, although the results in the friendlies were bad," he added.