David Taylor, the chief executive of the Scottish Football Association, yesterday launched a broadside against those whom he says are trying to undermine the position of Berti Vogts.

Taylor insists that Vogts will not be facing any review of his position as Scotland coach, at least until the World Cup campaign is well under way.

He also claimed that there were ''xenophobic elements'' in the press who wanted Vogts out. He insisted that the German was ''respected throughout Europe'' and that it was about time people closer to home ceased trying to undermine the national coach.

One thing is certainly clear. Barring an utter calamity on Wednesday night in Scotland's opening World Cup qualifier against Slovenia at Hampden, Vogts will not be going anywhere until at least the completion of their third match of the Group 5 campaign in Moldova on October 13.

The routine meeting of the SFA's executive board on Thursday is likely to pass without any of the controversy which has been hyped up around it in recent days.

Given the internal disagreement among the 11 members of the SFA board about the quality of Vogts' leadership, there seems little doubt that a combination of Friday's impressive display against Spain, allied to further support from Vogts' long-suffering backers such as Taylor and the SFA president, John McBeth, has bought the coach more time.

In his vehement defence of Vogts yesterday, Taylor argued that even a draw against Slovenia - who beat Moldova 3-0 on Saturday - in a difficult World Cup opener for Scotland would not trigger SFA panic.

''There has been a lot of pressure on Berti recently but I think we have a decent chance in this World Cup campaign, and it's not just about the first match,'' said Taylor.

''I mean, we could draw on Wednesday night, but this is not Apocalypse Now. It is a 10-match campaign. Obviously, the aim on Wednesday must be to win and get off to a flier but we do seem to go on these rollercoaster rides.

''There was an outcry after the Hungary match, and people were dredging up Berti's record with Scotland, and it all got a bit hysterical. But Berti's been around and he's had long experience of handling pressure. The important thing for me is that the team manager should actually take the pressure off the players, and I think Berti does that.

''He's held in respect by our players. People in football, at UEFA or FIFA or wherever, will tell you he's a top guy. We've had people in this country saying, 'Berti doesn't know much about the game and he can't organise a team', but this is nonsense. It's certainly not what the other managers around Europe say of him.''

None the less, Taylor did admit that the pressure on Vogts had reached a critical point in recent days, and that it will almost certainly return if Scotland lose to Slovenia on Wednesday.

Taylor also admitted that the experience of last Friday's 1-1 draw in the abandoned friendly against Spain in Valencia had been a huge risk, but one which had ended up easing the pressure on Vogts.

''Like most football managers, I've seen Berti get tetchy before matches, and the game against Spain was definitely a risk,'' said Taylor. ''But I've said all along that one of the attractions about Berti is that he is prepared to take these risks.

''He was criticised for taking the Spain game on in the first place and we all knew what might happen. We could have come out of that match on Friday night with a 5-0 or 6-0 defeat but Berti still went there and took the challenge on.

''Okay, Wednesday against Slovenia will be a different sort of game but Berti knows what he's doing. I hope a few more people now realise that. People have spoken recently about the Scotland team's lack of organisation, but look at the game in Valencia. The hallmark of that match was Scotland's good organisation.''

Barring a catastrophe on Wednesday, which would be the final straw for Vogts, a narrow defeat to a significantly decent Slovenian team would leave the coach awaiting with peril his next two Group 5 matches, starting with Norway's visit to Hampden on October 9. Five days later, Scotland play Moldova in Tiraspol, by which point Vogts will either be reinforced in the job or out on his ear.

Yesterday, Taylor was intent on a display of optimism. ''Had we not played against Spain, and just had a training camp instead, I think there might have been more pressure going into Wednesday's match for Berti,'' he said.

''But now that we got that performance in Valencia, if only for the hour, it has all proved to be worthwhile.

''I was actually disappointed the Spain game had to be abandoned. I feel we would have got a draw and that it would then have officially gone on the record. Spain were recently ranked third in the world and we are supposedly ranked 67th.

''I've said all along that these FIFA rankings are not to be totally relied upon, and when people are saying to me, 'look, Scotland are now worse than Uzbekistan', then I just say, look at that game last Friday.

''We know we don't have the best group of players in the world. It's a question of making the most of the talents we have, and I think we've got a right good chance going into this World Cup campaign.''

The Scotland players have had a rest period before resuming their training today in the build-up to Wednesday's match.

Vogts continues to have a concern over Steven Pressley, who suffered a muscle spasm and missed the match against Spain. The SFA insist they are expecting a crowd in excess

of 30,000 at Hampden on Wednesday night.