George Burley has been sacked as manager of Scotland after a little under two years at the helm.

Three wins
Formerly in charge of Southampton FC, Heart of Midlothian FC, Derby County FC and Ipswich Town FC, the 53-year-old succeeded Alex McLeish in January 2008 but failed to lead Scotland to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, finishing third in Group 9. During Burley's 22-month tenure, Scotland recorded just three wins in 14 games, culminating in a 3-0 friendly defeat by Wales in Cardiff on Saturday. A statement by the Scottish Football Association (SFA) confirmed that Burley's contract, which was not due to expire until 2012, had been terminated with immediate effect.

'Best' candidate
Gordon Smith, the SFA chief executive, said: "We now have four months until our next scheduled match against Czech Republic [on 3 March] and will therefore utilise the intervening period to ensure we attract the best possible replacement to take Scotland forward." Burley's assistants, Terry Butcher and Paul Hegarty, have also been relieved of their duties.