 Scotland boss McLeish (right) saw his side outplayed in Bari |
Scotland manager Alex McLeish has told his players they have to be more street-wise - or continue to suffer at the hands of referees. "When you go away from home, body contact of any kind is not allowed," he said after the 2-0 defeat by Italy.
"In the British game, a lot of the challenges from my players wouldn't have been free-kicks.
"It's something we were aware of and it's something we spoke about and we know that we have to be a bit cuter."
McLeish believes the Euro 2008 qualifying reverse was largely down to the number of free-kicks his players conceded in dangerous areas.
The first of Luca Toni's goals came from a set-piece.
Ukraine, Scotland and France are now level on points at the top of Group B.
 | I think Scotland have a great chance of qualifying Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies |
And, despite the set-back in their qualification quest, McLeish insists he does not have too many complaints about how his players acquitted themselves in Italy.
"We had some information from the Italian papers over the last two or three weeks," he said.
"We kind of knew what the Italian team would be, so the team wasn't a surprise to us at all and we prepared well for it.
"I'm very happy with the response I've had from my players over the last two games. The commitment was tremendous.
"The only thing wrong in Italy was the result.
"I felt there were times when we kept the ball well and we went forward well in numbers, which was the game-plan.
"That was the reason why I played an attacking midfielder, rather than a defensive midfielder.
"We felt we wanted to have a go and show a bit of purpose against the world champions and we finished the first half very well, very strongly.
"I really felt the Italians' biggest threat was from the free-kicks in the first half."
Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies believes Scotland can still make next summer's finals.
"I think Scotland have a great chance of qualifying," he said.
"After getting the win against Georgia, anything in Bari was going to be a bonus.
"But I thought they played extremely well against Italy.
"Alex was very positive. He wasn't happy with one or two daft free-kicks about the box because you are asking for trouble with the quality of delivery they have and Toni is a big centre-forward to tie down.
"But Scotland's build-up play was okay and we had one or two decent chances."
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Interview: Scotland manager Alex McLeish