David Moyes backs under-fire Gordon Strachan - but would be interested in managing Scotland in the future

While England’s players were subjected to some heavy criticism in the wake of Tuesday’s goalless draw in Slovenia, their current situation is nothing compared to that of their neighbours from north of the border.

Scotland followed up a poor home draw with Lithuania with a thumping 3-0 defeat to Slovakia this week, and already face a huge uphill battle to secure a place at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Their latest humiliation led to a flurry of calls demanding Strachan’s dismissal, but the Scottish FA are adamant the former Middlesbrough boss will still be in charge when his side return to action in a qualifier at Wembley at the start of next month.

Moyes, who was born and raised in Glasgow, has been touted as a possible successor, and the Sunderland boss claims it would be an honour to take charge of his country at some stage in the future.

However, he remains convinced Strachan is the right man to lead Scotland at the moment, even if he concedes his homeland is going through a particularly rough spell.

“The first thing I’d say is that Gordon is doing as best he can with what’s available,” said Moyes, whose international experiences as a player ended at Under-18 level. “I think that unfortunately because Scotland’s my country and I’ve supported them and followed them.

“With what’s available to Gordon, it’s very difficult for him to do much more. He’s trying to get the best out of them.

“Gordon, for me, is still the right man, but it’s something I’d never say never to in the future. Never say never to managing Scotland. It’s always something which I would definitely keep open.”

In many ways, attempting to guide Scotland to a major tournament is a task not too dissimilar to the challenge of trying to keep Sunderland in the Premier League.

It could be argued that neither side is blessed with truly top-class players – with the possible exception of Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe – and they find themselves competing against opponents boasting resources far in excess of their own.

Moyes will be hoping Sunderland finally get back to winning ways when they travel to Stoke City tomorrow, with the Potters the only other top-flight side yet to record a Premier League victory this season.

Similarly, the proud Scot is desperate to see Strachan’s side pull off what would be a notable away win when they take on England next month.

“Scotland definitely need to get to a (major finals),” said Moyes. “But Wales have a few Premier League players – Aaron Ramsey, (Ashley) Williams, (Joe) Ledley – and a top player (Gareth Bale), and even Northern Ireland have the likes of Jonny Evans and (Gareth) McAuley who play regularly.

“The Republic of Ireland have players like (James) McCarthy, players who play regularly in the Premier League, but Scotland don’t have that many.

“They’ve got players who play in the Championship, but don’t quite have players at the same level. In the past, we’ve had unbelievable players, and the sad thing is that in the past, we always thought we were a country that would be competitive with any nation in the world. We suddenly don’t feel like that, although saying that, Wembley will still be half-full of Scots!”

Tomorrow, Moyes finds himself lining up against an under-fire Welshman, with Mark Hughes having struggled to get Stoke firing in the opening two months of the season.

The Potters are only one point ahead of Sunderland, but they showed signs of progress as they drew at Manchester United in their last outing, and Moyes still regards them as a club heading in the right direction.

“I’ve known Mark a long time, and we’ve been against each other at different clubs,” said the Sunderland boss. “Stoke have built correctly, and Tony Pulis did a good job getting stability.

“They’ve given the manager money and changed their training ground. They have a good, steady Premier League club. It’s a model for stability. It’s a long road they’ve been on, and they’re doing okay with it.”