Alex McLeish was on a hiding to nothing from the moment he came in.

The first choice and popular choice, Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill rejected Scotland after a very public pursuit, leaving an embarrassed Scottish FA going back to their shortlist and making an appointment seen by many as an 'old pals act'.

It was a return to Hampden for the former international defender, whose relative success first time around was tempered by the manner of his departure, taking a job at Birmingham City after just 11 months in charge.

His second stint began with a 1-0 Hampden loss to Costa Rica - and was followed up by victory in Hungary, then defeats to Mexico and Peru on a much-criticised long-haul trip that had been arranged before his appointment, then a thumping at home to Belgium.

It wasn't the ideal start to his reign but the real judgement was to come when competitive action got underway.

The Nations League was created for the likes of Scotland as a way to help us end our long and arduous wait for a major championships. But it was also built for teams like Israel. After a comfortable win over Albania, there was humiliation in Haifa as Scotland threw away an early lead and were beaten 2-1 by a side ranked more than 50 places below them.

McLeish vowed he would bounce back and that he did. Under huge pressure, a 4-0 win over Albania and a James Forrest-inspired comeback to beat Israel at home clinched the Nations League group and booked a Euro play-off spot.

That Hampden night offered a chink of hope that McLeish could get the best out of this generation of players.

But while many reserved judgement for the real deal in the Euro qualifying group, no-one could have predicted what would happen next.

Thursday, March 21: The worst result in the nation's footballing history.

Scotland flew out to Kazakhstan - minus captain Andy Robertson - but with high hopes of getting the campaign off to a flying start before heading to San Marino.

They took detailed advice on preparation, sticking to UK time, and keeping the players inside away from the sub-zero conditions. Journalists who made the trip, and I was one of them, kept the same strange hours and witnessed a waking nightmare.

Within ten minutes inside the Astana Arena, McLeish's hapless side were two down against a team ranked 117th in the world. After 51 minutes, it was three. Hopes of competing with Belgium and Russia at the top of the group looked to be in tatters and the manager's position was hanging by a thread.

In his post-match media conference the manager was defiant, insisting, once again, that he was "pretty good at bouncing back". But it was too late, the damage was already done.

McLeish's assistant James McFadden admitted that even a 10-0 win over San Marino in the next game wouldn't silence the critics. In the end, Scotland didn't even get half way there. Even the most dedicated of Tartan Army foot soldiers had clearly had enough with the boos ringing out around the tiny stadium as Scotland struggled to a 2-0 win.

There was no way back after that, but still the SFA refused to rush into a decision on the manager's future, content to wait until today's pre-arranged board meeting. Under mounting pressure and growing apathy from supporters, they knew that enough was enough and, after 14 months and 12 games, McLeish's time was up.

The right man at the right time a dozen years ago, the return to the hot seat just seemed to prove the adage that you can never go back. An awkward spell for the national team may be over but a difficult time for the Scottish FA now lies ahead as they look to show they're capable of getting it right, on and off the park.