Williams felt being an 'outsider' did not help his cause

Frank Hadden's predecessor was sacked after winning just three games out of 17, but he says he was not given long enough to improve standards.

"I rammed home the message that we would only transform matters in years, not weeks or even months," the Australian told The Herald.

"The skills of most of the players were sub-standard when I took over."

Williams says the poor run of results under his stewardship were to be expected as he sought to revive the Scots' fortunes.

"I was told by the SRU that I had four years to turn things round and was perfectly realistic in letting my employers know that we could easily go 12 months without winning a game, because our performance at the last World Cup demonstrated how far we had fallen off the pace," he added.

"But it would be pretty unfair if I didn't earn some credit for improving our strength, our conditioning and our kicking - the latter with the help of Mick Byrne, who has since been hired by the All Blacks.

"Anybody who thinks you can wave a magic wand and change everything in a few weeks is delusional."

He also feels he was hindered by being bracketed alongside the beleaguered former Scotland football manager, Berti Vogts.

I was forced to work with limited resources and in a climate of endless disputes and recriminations Matt Williams

"Because I was an outsider, I had a problem from the start," he continued.

"It also didn't help that there is such a huge football mentality in Scotland, because Berti and I were continually bracketed together, because the two of us were foreigners, even though the comparison, in my opinion, is ridiculous."

Williams also points to the "feel-bad factor" in Scottish rugby at the time as a result of "CEOs coming and going" and "SRU board members squabbling in the open", though he says he did not like adding to that by criticising his players.

But he added: "What was I supposed to say after the team missed 29 tackles against England at Twickenham? That they had done themselves justice?

"No. I was up front through all the problems I faced."

While Williams says he is not surprised at the team's recent good performances and results under Hadden and maintains he does not want to "slag" his former players, he claimed credit for the groundwork he did.

"You had guys who were winning caps who didn't deserve them," he said.

"You had individuals who didn't want to hear the truth about their deficiencies, and I was forced to work with limited resources and in a climate of endless disputes and recriminations.

"Consider Dan Parks, for instance, who copped torrents of flak from the media when he was selected. Sure I flung him into Test rugby before he was ready and it was a baptism of fire for the lad.

"But now he is ready and he is producing the kind of displays of which I knew he was capable.

"There were others such as Hugo Southwell, Ally Hogg and Al Kellock who we were convinced had the potential to make a big impression, but they and I required time to develop and I wasn't given it."