Is Graeme Souness wrong to label Scottish football as 'limited'?

He may be a former Scotland captain but surely that's one good reason for not coming out and slating your nation's footballing skills.

Graeme Souness has ruled himself out of taking on the Scottish manager's job after calling the state of football in the country 'limited'.

The vacancy comes after George Burley was sacked from the role following a 3-0 defeat in a friendly against Wales.

But Souness said: "I don't think if you had Arsene Wenger or Alex Ferguson managing the Scottish team right now the results would be much different. I think the Scottish players right now are a limited bunch."

The ex-Liverpool star is probably right when he says Burley did the best he could with the players available but such a stark verdict is a bit of a negative response to the crisis engulfing his country's team.

John Collins has today said he's interested in the hotseat and Craig Levein and Gary McAllister have also been mooted as possibles.

Souness continued: "You are working with what the country has thrown up at that particular time. Whoever is the manager will find it difficult to get the results that will make the nation happy."

He adds the Scottish FA should be taking a long-term view and concentrating on youth.
So has the influx of foreign players created a problem for the smaller Scottish leagues?

Celtic and Rangers both co-opt stars from abroad into their ranks as happens in England but as the two biggest teams in the country, that's always going to harm the national side.

There's also very few Scotsmen playing in the Premier League these days.

But surely a team of 11 could be found that's decent enough to mount even a mediocre challenge for a tournament place.

If everyone took Souness's attitude, nothing would ever change.

Perhaps No1 on the list for whoever takes over will be not ringing Souey for any advice.

What do you think about the state of Scottish football? Why is the national team so poor? Give us your view...