MARK WARBURTON reckons Scottish football has to start rebuilding from the ground up if we are to end our 18-year wait for a return to the top table of international football.

Scotland’s dreams of reaching the 2018 World Cup in Russia suffered a severe blow on Tuesday night as Gordon Strachan’s side crashed to a 3-0 defeat to Slovakia.

The national boss is under increasing pressure from several quarters but Warburton insists the Hampden hierarchy have to look deeper for the answers to the problems that continue to plague our game.

Read more: Mark Warburton: Rangers midfielder Jordan Rossiter should be raring to go for Celtic clashGlasgow Times: Mark Warburton

He said: “They have players coming through the system. Scotland are not winning or qualifying for tournaments at Under-21 or other youth levels.

“So you can’t not do well in those tournaments and then suddenly have a World Cup qualifying squad.

“It doesn’t work that way. It needs a revamp of the system. Whatever is happening at the moment, it’s not working. That’s the fact of it.

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“It’s about the development of players and the challenge they are given. This is not a dig at Scottish players, far from it.

“You have to look at the challenges placed before them. To use Dom Ball as an example, he played for Tottenham in tournaments in Singapore, Vietnam, Dallas - he was all over the place playing in a variety of games, including being part of first team tours.

“Have Scottish players been given the same level of challenge Dom Ball has been given?

“The key point is qualifying at those age groups, which England have done. Look at the teams from Under-17 up to Under-21 - some of the players coming through down south have frightening quality.

“I’m not saying that is currently being reflected at senior level with England, but there is a lot of work going into developing players for the system down there.

“If Scotland don’t qualify at the younger age groups, does it suddenly mean they are going to turn into world beaters later on? You have to give the younger players a better chance and better quality of challenge.

“I’m not sure they are being given the best opportunity at the moment.”

Warburton became a key figure in youth football in Europe through the NextGen series and held Academy roles at Watford and Brentford before making the move into management.

The 54-year-old has defended Strachan in the face of mounting criticism after a draw with Lithuania and demoralising defeat in Trnava.

And the Englishman believes more has to be done at grassroots level to give our kids the best chance of making the grade at the highest level.

He said: “I know Gordon is a very, very experience, proven manager. So is it too easy to say it’s just the manager’s fault? Is there a far deeper problem that isn’t being resolved at the moment?

“I looked at Das Reboot, the way the Germans changed everything. Was it ’97?

“They took a brave decision, a massive decision – and they’re reaping the rewards.

“It’s not going to happen overnight. Scotland are not suddenly going to beat England by five at Wembley next month.

“But, if it takes two years or three years, at least the foundations are being laid.

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“Don’t sit here in three years’ time and say: ‘Oh, we’ve not qualified for the Euros again…’

“I see the raw talent here in Scotland, absolutely. They just need the right challenges.

“Comparing like for like, with what I see down south, what challenges are Dom Ball exposed to that our guys here aren’t?

“Rangers are one of the two biggest clubs in the country. What are we exposing our guys to, compared to Dom Ball?

“That’s the problem. And I’m just using Dom as an example for the Academy boys down south.

“The type of games they get, the constant challenges they face, the international challenges they get, we’ve got to try to match it up here.”