Berra believes Scots can upset the odds

Scotland defender Christophe Berra insists the finger of blame should not be pointed at manager Craig Levein following their World Cup qualifying defeat to Wales.

The manager has found himself under even more pressure in the wake of the 2-1 loss in Cardiff, which leaves the Scots second-bottom of Group A.

But Berra believes the players should shoulder the responsibility for not snuffing out the threat of a Wales side who grabbed victory thanks to a late double from Gareth Bale.

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Asked if the players still back Levein, the Wolves defender said: “It’s got nothing to do with the manager – we are the ones who go out on the pitch.

“We played well, we just maybe ran out of steam a bit. A penalty and a 25-yard strike lost us the game.

“At top-level football, it’s the flip of a coin sometimes. We didn’t have the luck.

“It’s a game we should have won comfortably. Our chances came and maybe we should have killed them off.”

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Hopes of booking their place in Brazil appear to be all but over for Scotland, who now need victory over favourites Belgium tomorrow to have any real hope of salvaging their campaign.

Berra knows the odds are stacked firmly against Levein’s men ahead of the game in Brussels but he pointed out that Scotland have risen to the occasion in the past when written off.

He said: “We’re second-bottom. It’s not a great position to be in.

“But we will look over the game and we will go to Belgium on Monday and prepare for the game on Tuesday.

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“They are a top team, with world-class players, but we have done it before. We did in France.

“When we’re down, we always seem to bounce back.

“We didn’t play badly against Wales. Lady Luck just didn’t go our way.

“Footballers are thick-skinned. At club level as well, you get beat in one game, you’ve got to move on.

“We are disappointed now but you can’t dwell on the past. We don’t know how we got beat by Wales, really.”

Berra admits they should have dealt with the threat of Wales star Bale but added: “He’s a world-class player.”