RANGERS manager Pedro Caixinha expected Scottish football to be on the up after being impressed with the coaching education programme.

But he said yesterday that there needs to be more focus on tactical awareness for players to get Scotland back to the main international arena.

The Portuguese coach disagreed with Gordon Strachan’s claim that Scotland were “genetically behind” other nations after taking their absence from major tournaments beyond 20 years with a 2-2 draw in Slovenia.

Caixinha, who completed his coaching badges with the Scottish Football Association in 2011, said: “You need to respect his point of view, more directed towards the physical side of the game, but he also mentioned that Scotland and Spain were the shortest ones. But Spain play a lot of football, so I think it’s nothing to do with that.

“When I came here to do my badges, I was really obsessed with the way things were done here for the coaches’ education, and I really learned a lot when I was here.

“So I was expecting that things were going in that direction. If the education of the coaches is so good, the whole of football should also be very good from the base to the top, from the youth system to the professional league.

“But if, once again, the focus is on the fitness side and physicality, I think we are not focused on the main [aspects] of the game, which is the decisions, the tactical side, the style of play, the game models, the training methodology.

“A lot of things surround football nowadays and we need to understand that that information is going to be very, very useful.”

However, Hamilton manager Martin Canning felt Strachan had a point.

“I don’t know how you can fix it, but I do understand what he’s saying,” Canning said. “I think in terms of the power at the top end of the game, the smaller players are all powerful, very quick and have great acceleration and we don’t seem to create that type of player.

“Even if we’re small, we’re kind of good at everything but don’t excel at a lot. We’re good pros but, if you look at the top end of the game, we don’t have that speed or the power.”