"The decision was taken after a meeting with the board of directors and, subsequently, the national coach. The board was in unanimous agreement.
"It should be stressed that the decision was not a direct consequence of Saturday's unacceptable 3-0 defeat to Wales, but rather a realisation that the expectations of the supporters, the Scottish FA and George himself were not being met.
"I should point out that the Scottish FA stands by its decision to give the national coach our full support despite failure to qualify for the World Cup play-offs.
"It would have been negligent not to have given George every opportunity to rebuild and revitalise the squad in light of the improved performances in the last two qualifiers against FYR Macedonia and Holland.
"Unfortunately, the adverse results in the two subsequent friendly matches against Japan and Wales provided confirmation that the improvement could not be sustained."