Strachan is the father of a nation
You say it best when you say nothing at all.
You say it best when you say nothing at all.
If only the FAI's Chief Executive John Delaney had heeded the words of his fellow countryman Ronan Keating there might have been a more harmonious build-up to the Euro 2016 qualifier that saw the Republic of Ireland lose to Scotland at Celtic Park on Friday night.
If, as is generally agreed, that torrid match was a throwback to earlier, less sophisticated times in terms of its physicality then it's also true to say the public don't know the half of it where conflict off the field was concerned.
My information is that, for the first time in living memory, a visiting country's official delegation refused to attend the pre-match banquet laid on by the SFA at the National Stadium on the eve of the game last Thursday.
The high profile snub was the consequence of the row which had developed over the size of the ticket allocation for visiting fans at Celtic Park given to the Irish by the governing body.
The bare minimum allowed by UEFA regulations, just over three thousand in number, was a bare faced cheek according to Delaney, who also hinted that the SFA's refusal to give the Irish more seats would heighten tension on the night.
It was a one sided argument since no-one from the SFA President Campbell Ogilvie downwards was prepared to enter into a war of words and contradict Delaney's claims in print or by use of the spoken word for the benefit of the broadcast media.
But I'm assured that, privately, there was a feeling inflammatory language was being used concerning the contentious issue of ticket distribution. The best course of action under the circumstances was, in the SFA's estimation, to assume the moral high ground and let the Scotland team, and their supporters, do their talking for them.
It turned out to be an exercise in high ranking diplomacy that resulted in a home win for Gordon Strachan and the SFA's Chief Executive, Stewart Regan.
The night was marred by the tragic death of a Scotland fan who fell down a stairwell inside Celtic Park in the immediate aftermath of victory, but the occasion was spared any unseemly altercations between rival sets of supporters.,
The SFA will shortly move into the firing line on a variety of fronts through circumstances which are none of their making.
The findings of an independent judicial tribunal regarding the seven match ban imposed on Celtic's Aleksander Tonev for allegedly using language of a racist nature towards Aberdeen defender Shay Logan have been contested on appeal and the outcome of that hearing will result, it stands to reason, in one aggrieved party making their displeasure known from the rooftops.
There will also, inevitably, be calls for the governing body to have their input into the current goings on regarding the allegedly fraudulent nature of the takeover which brought Craig Whyte into Ibrox, and which has led to a warrant being issued for his arrest.
In the meantime, let's just say the guardians of our game, as witnessed by the goings on surrounding the match with The Republic of Ireland, are on their game and deserve the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the proper governance of our national sport.
A statement best backed up by pointing out that they had the sense to bring an end to Craig Levein's regrettable time in charge of the national team and the courage to install Strachan as his replacement.
It was half an hour after the win against the Irish when Gordon entered the press marquee erected outside Celtic Park to face the press.
"Hugh, how are you enjoying semi-retirement ?" he said for openers, referring to my recent withdrawal from the world of newspapers.
I was touched by the human interest shown, especially given that I'm not sure I'd have remembered to ask a journalist how he was getting on after having just gone through a ninety minute test of mental strength on a night when results elsewhere in Scotland's qualifying Group D left absolutely no margin for error so far as the manager was concerned.
When I replied that everything in the metaphorical garden was rosy concerning my enjoyment of semi-retirement, Gordon said, "Yeah, same for me."
If I'd been sitting on a chair at the time, I'd have fallen off it after that reply.
If spending two years re-building a nation's confidence in its football team is regarding as part-time employment then there are some among the fully occupied in the managerial profession who're presently getting away with murder.
Strachan has become the father of the nation, doing for Scottish football what Nelson Mandela did for South African rugby. Gordon has galvanised a team, re-energised a supporter base and brought the rest of the country out from behind the setee with a renewed sense of belief whenever his side plays a match.
He has unified a country in a way professional politicians can only dream of doing.
If he beats England for the first time in fifteen years when the sides meet at Celtic Park in this week's friendly then the next referendum might need to concern itself with the issue of who should be running the country, the parliament in Holyrood or the wee man from another part of Edinburgh.
What's been achieved so far, with competitive results leaving reasonable grounds for optimism that Scotland can qualify for the Euro finals in France two years from now, has come about as the result of Strachan's strength of will.
We were a car crash watch until he took control of the wheel and showed us the road to what he would call a "good place."
From the moment Robert Snodgrass scored the only goal of the game to beat Croatia away from home until the second Shaun Maloney netted to beat the Republic of Ireland in Glasgow, Strachan has worked the kind of miracles that might have had the sceptical calling for him to be burned at the stake in primitive times.
But there's no witchcraft at work here, only decades of experience being put to good use on Scotland's behalf.
Victory over England would be a handsome bauble, but base metal compared to gaining qualification for the European Championship in 2016.
Never the less, in his deepest sub-conscious, Gordon will want that bauble for the good it will do in further increasing the feelgood factor that is now two years old where his Scotland team is concerned.
And what could be better use of a dark night in November than to put Clive Tyldsley's gas at a peep during his television commentary on the match ?
The FAI might have taken the huff and spurned the invitation to dine at the SFA's table, but we're the ones gorging ourselves on the feast that Strachan has put down in front of us.