Mike Blair says the players support coach Frank Hadden
Scotland captain Mike Blair says replacing coach Frank Hadden and his backroom staff would be a mistake.
Speaking ahead of Saturday's clash with England, Blair told BBC Scotland that the players support Hadden.
Defeat against England would mean failure to achieve the 40% winning ratio set by the Scottish Rugby Union.
"We've let the management team down and they can't go on the pitch and sort out the problems - we need to put in an 80-minute performance," said Blair.
Former Edinburgh coach Hadden was given the Scotland job in September 2005 and enjoyed success in his first Six Nations, with three victories.
However, the 2007 and 2008 campaigns were disappointing, yielding just one victory from five outings each time.
Hadden's future is expected to be be decided at the end of April.
Blair said it was crucial the players impressed against England to show how much they were behind Hadden and his coaching staff.
"All the players are desperate to succeed for the country, supporters and themselves," Blair said.
"There's pressure on the Scottish rugby side to win every game we play in.
There's pressure on the Scottish rugby side to win every game we play in
Scotland captain Mike Blair
"We've got the talent at the moment, we just need to keep the guys together.
"But we've got some relatively inexperienced guys with about 10 to 15 caps. Once they've got 35 caps we will see the team really pulling together."
Scotland are second bottom of the Six Nations table, with two points from four games.
They recorded their only win of the campaign against wooden spoon contenders Italy.
They face a resurgent England at Twickenham on Saturday, looking to end the Six Nations on a high and secure the Calcutta Cup.
~RS~a~RS~International~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~32~RS~){kind=small}
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~32~RS~)
E-mail this to a friend
Printable version
Bookmark with:
What are these?