Craig Levein insists it was not his fault that Scotland didn't qualify for next summer's European Championships in Poland and Ukraine.
The Scots finished third in Group I, behind Spain and the Czech Republic, with some critics suggesting the team Levein fielded in their 1-0 loss to the Czechs in Prague in October last year cost them qualification.
On that day, Levein went with a 4-6-0 formation but he believes the real reason for the failure was the two poor refereeing decisions in the return bout with the Czechs which ended 2-2 at Hampden Park in September.
"I keep saying the game in Prague was 90 minutes against a team who at the time were ranked far higher and we lost 1-0," he said.
"In the game at Hampden we were winning 2-1 with minutes to go and the referee gives a penalty that wasn't, and then we don't get a penalty.
"That, for me, is far more realistic when talking about what cost us, rather than a 90-minute match we might have lost 3-0 or 4-0.
"That game in Prague actually taught me a lot about the players. I found some players that day, guys I knew after that would do me a turn.
"You want to learn positive things, but sometimes learning something negative is just as important.
"Sometimes you have to go through things to get somewhere."
