LEVEIN'S CONFUSION

CRAIG LEVEIN gives the distinct impression he has never heard the old saying about sauce for the goose being sauce for the gander.

Certainly ,what holds good for one newspaper when it comes to getting an  exclusive via a leak from the Scotland dressing room, does not appear to hold good for another, when it produces its own scoop via a leak.

Regular readers will recall my praise for the Daily Record's, Keith Jackson when he broke the story of Levein's outburst and verbal assualt on  James McFadden at half time in last month's game against Liechtenstein.

Jacko's story also included the claim that Levein's rant was not only directed at the Birmingham City man, but also at Middlesbrough's Kris Boyd. It was a cracking tale, as I said at the time.

My observations about the wider reaching implications were directed at what I thought may be Levein's reaction to what had gone on within the sanctity of the dressing room being made public on the back page of the Record.

Surely, the question I posed, McFadden's own manager, former Scotland boss, AleX McLeish, and Boyd's boss at Boro, Gordon Strachan, would be less than impressed? They would have expected anything Levein may have had to say to their players behind closed doors, to remain there.

Of course, that's nothing to do with Jacko. His job is to get stories for the Record, regardless of whether they make Levein's job harder.

I did though expect to see the Scotland manager appearing in public print either issuing a denial, which would would have been difficult as everyone in the inky trade knew Jacko's exclusive was spot on, or at least issuing some sort of of statement.

From Levein though, words were there none. His silence on the subject was, and has remained, deafening.

Something else which I expected, was to hear through the grapvine which extends from the West Midlands and the north east, all the way back to Scotland, that Levein had been in touch privately with either big Eck or wee Gordy to explain himself.

Either that grapevine is clogged or there is nothing to report. And I know which of those alternatives I chose to believe is the case.

Sauce for the goose then. And for the gander?

Well, on Wednesday morning another press pack pal, the always meticulous and  ever affable Roger Hannah, produced a stunning Scotland exclusive, via another leak.

It was, that Levein was planning to drop Rangers striker Kenny Millar, 49 caps, and the in form Scot in the top flight scoring stakes, from the team to face the Czech Republic in Prague ,and replace him with the uncapped Jamie Mackie from Queens Park Rangers in the Championship.

This led to a furious outburst from Levein when the squad and the press met up at Glasgow airport later on Wednesday, ready to depart for Prague.

According to Levein, Hannah and the Sun were traitors. The Scotland manager then ranted that he believed there were some members of the media who did not want Scotland to qualify for the European Championship Finals in Poland and the Ukraine in the summer of 2012.

Now please take a moment here. Think about that allegation.

What Levein was actually charging the Sun man with was not wanting to spend three weeks all on  expenses jaunting around Poland and the Ukraine, staying in top hotels and watching football at the highest level.

And the charge he levelled against the Sun was that the newspaper did not wish the potential boost to its circulation for around a month which would  be a product of Scotland's participation in the Euro 12 Finals.

Nurse! The screens please.

My view is that Roger Hannah and his sports editor, the highly experienced and extremely well connected Ian King, would never have run the story unless they were sure of their information.

Which is not to say that Miller won't start the game. Levein will have the final say on who does and does not play, and he can decide to change his mind should he wish to.

But as for the sauce for the gander? Not from Levein.

By the eve of the match he was cutting short the time he gave the travelling press pack in Prague as they sought to preview Friday night's match, and my information is that he felt unwilling to be a part of  a circulation war between the Daily Record and the Sun.

Well here's a wee bit of historical newspaper information for Levein. Every Scotland team manager, every Old Firm manager, and indeed every manager in Scotland and all the clubs in Scotland are part of that war. Just as they have been, back to when it first started when Jock Stein was the national team boss.

And there were many before him who were part of a  previous cut throat circulation war between the Scottish Daily Express and the Daily Record in the 1960s and 70s.

So here is another saying Levein gives little indication of knowing - one man's meat is another man's poison.

I certainly hope, whoever Levein picks, that Scotland win in Prague. And win they must, after blowing the chance of three points in Lithuania in a dreadful goalless draw.

There is every indication the Czechs are there for the taking, despite some of Levein's tame press pals talking them up.

It's a long time - ten years in fact - since the Czechs were rated number two in the world, boasting a golden generation of stars who played for some of Europe's top teams. Now they have slumped to 37th in the FIFA rankings, with only Tomas Rosicky of Arsenal and Chelsea keeper Petr Cech remaining.

They lost 1-0 at home to a Lithuanian side we could all see was no more than slightly below average, and in Michal Bilek have a coach who is the fourth to hold the position in just over the two years since the legendary Karel Buckner quit in the wake of a 2-0 lead over Turkey in the last Euro Finals being squandered in the closing 15 minutes, and a 3-2 defeat heralding their exit.

The Czechs have defensive worries and Bilek, like Levein a rookie at international level ,tried without any success to tempt Atletico Madrid's Tomas Ujfalus and Marek Jankuovski  of AC Milan back to their country's colours.

On the face of it, therefore, the Czech Republic are a national team in turmoil. Which is a wee bit how the Scots have continued to look as the George Burley years have given way to the Levein era.