Scotland assistant manager Mark McGhee says he would be amazed if Gordon Strachan quit as national coach. The Motherwell manager gave an impassioned defence of their performance as a Scotland management team amid debate over Strachans future following last weeks 3-0 defeat by England.Speaking ahead of Saturdays visit of Partick Thistle, the former Millwall and Wolves boss said: In the week leading up to the game I know his appetite was full. It showed in the performance, that he got his message across and the boys responded and played very, very well. He is entitled to go into the next games and see if we can improve on the results and Id be amazed if he doesnt. Action from Englands 3-0 win over Scotland at Wembley McGhee has deliberately avoided media reaction to the Wembley defeat, which left Scotland fifth in their World Cup qualifying section with four points from four matches, and has not spoken at length to Strachan since the match.But he reiterated he felt the teams attitude and approach was spot-on and described their start to the game as excellent, enough to convince him that they can revive results next year, which starts with the visit of Slovenia on March 26.We have our views and everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course they are, thats the business we are in, McGhee said. Scotland began the campaign with a 5-1 victory in Malta But, as far as I am concerned, I am looking forward to the next games, in particular I cannot wait for the game in June. I want to get the other games, of course I do, and I want to do well but I want to be here when we play England at Hampden. Highlights of Englands clash with Scotland at Wembley in their 2018 World Cup qualifier Whatever else anyone says, we will just keep doing it until someone else takes the keys off us and we cant do it.Scotland took seven points from their first four matches in their Euro 2016 campaign from arguably a tougher run of fixtures, against Germany, Georgia, Poland and the Republic of Ireland. But McGhee bristled at the suggestion that there were no signs of progress. Shaun Maloney scores the only goal of game as Scotland beat Republic of Ireland at Celtic Park In some ways our results and overall performance in the last campaign is better than it is in this campaign, he said.However, you have to be honest, you have to look at the players we have available, look at the opposition. Dont judge it as the same thing, things evolve. Circumstances in each game are different.You cant be blind where you dont take account of any other circumstance other than the result. Thats not fair. Last time we had a great result and performance against Ireland. Six months half price Upgrade to Sky Sports to watch Man Utd v Arsenal on Saturday and get the first six months half price We have not had one of those big results and performances yet. But thats what we are working towards. We were close to it at Wembley in some ways and thats what we will take into the next game, that we want that big performance.I feel if we go into that game and it was to be abject then there are clearly questions that need to be asked. But I feel so far that Gordon has done just about as well as we could be expected to do. And McGhees sentiments were echoed by Scotland captain Darren Fletcher who insists the players are keen for the former Celtic and Middlesbrough boss to remain in charge of the national side. Darren Fletcher (R) says players right behind Strachan He said: Friday was one of the most frustrating games I ever played in. We took the game to England at Wembley and were so unlucky.Gordon Strachan takes all the flak and deflects it from the players which is the sign of a great manager. The players want him to remain as manager. Upgrade to Sky Sports now to watch Ireland v New Zealand and Man Utd v Arsenal this Saturday and get the first six months half price! Also See: Scotland latest Scotland fixtures Scotland stats Table Live on Sky Eric Piatkowski Jersey . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. Custom Los Angeles Clippers Jerseys . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw. https://www.cheapclippersonline.com/290h-charles-smith-jersey-clippers.html .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. Norm Nixon Jersey . Jordan Lynch, the all-purpose Heisman Trophy finalist from Northern Illinois, failed to make it into that exclusive club. Rodney McGruder Jersey . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. CHARLESTON, S.C. -- It was turkey time at the Charleston Classic for Wake Forest ??? and not just because its November.Demon Deacons coach Danny Manning said assistant coach Randolph Childress challenged their players to get three defensive stops in a row. We called it a turkey, Manning said.Wake Forest picked up several turkeys Sunday night in a 78-61 victory over College of Charleston to finish third in the eight-team tournament.Manning said he wanted his players focused on defense and Childress found a catchy way to do that. We had three turkeys in the first half, Manning said. Not sure how many we had in the second half, but the guys kind of rallied around that. I think were going to try and use that all year long.Especially if it leads to more defensive efforts like Wake Forest (4-1) had in beating the Cougars (3-2).The Deacons held Charleston to 33.3 percent shooting overall and 27.8 percent on threes. They had five blocks and out-rebounded their opponents 36-30 in finishing 2-1 at TD Arena.Bryant Crawford scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half and John Collins added 15 points for Wake Forest.The Demon Deacons took control against the home-standing Cougars with a 15-6 run over the final six minutes of the opening half. They kept the pressure up after the break as Crawford had a 3-pointer and a three-point play to build a 62-42 lead midway through the period.College of Charleston (3-2) sliced that margin in half with 10 straight points, but could get no closer to lose for a second straight game.The shots were just falling, Crawford said. Coach gets on me a lot about missing layups, but today I made them.Crawford ended 7 of 12 from the field and had two of Wakes eight 3-pointers.Joe Chealey led Charleston with 19 points.Wake Forest closed an up-and-down event on a high note. It opened by hitting the 100-point mark for the first time eight years with a 103-81 victory over UTEP, then fell 96-77 to No. 3 Villanova despite shooting 50 percent from the field.ddddddddddddhis time, the Deacons mostly clicked throughout against the pesky Cougars. They finished over 50 percent (28 of 54) from the field, the fourth time in five games with such a high percentage.BIG PICTUREWake Forest: The Demon Deacons have a large group of athletic young players like sophomores Bryant Crawford, Keyshawn Woods and John Collins and freshman Brandon Childress who all saw extensive action at the Charleston Classic -- minutes that will serve them well once Atlantic Coast Conference play starts in five weeks or so. The 6-foot-10 Collins has led the Demon Deacons in four of five games this season, including all three at TD Arena this week.College of Charleston: The Cougars have to find their scoring touch if they hope to make a run in the Colonial Athletic Association this winter. Charleston shot less than 29 percent in a loss to UCF on Friday night and was struggling to make shots once more against Wake Forest.LOTS OF DEACONSWake Forest coach Danny Manning used 11 players, in part because of early foul trouble for starters Dinos Mitoglou and John Collins. Still, the team got solid showings from players not typically in the rotation. I really like our balance, Manning said. For us to get a win with John only playing 14 minutes and Dinos only 17, I think that speaks volumes to the balance we have on our team.COLD CHARLESTONCollege of Charleston struggled with its shooting throughout the tournament, something the Cougars know must improve in a hurry. Its early, Charleston guard Joe Chealey said. Its only the first five games of the season. Weve got to trust the process.UP NEXTWake Forest returns home to play Coastal Carolina on Wednesday night.College of Charleston travels to No. 3 Villanova on Wednesday night.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '