Football: Lambert: I'll quit if Scots are Euro flops.

PAUL LAMBERT admitted last night he would walk out on Scotland if they lose their next two games.

The Celtic skipper and his Rangers opposite number Barry Ferguson were singled out by Berti Vogts for not getting forward enough during Scotland's 1- 0 defeat by Denmark at Hampden last week.

Lambert was coaxed out of retirement by Vogts when he became national coach for one last tilt at helping his country qualify for a major championship.

Scotland face the Faroes and Iceland away from home in Euro 2004 Championship qualifiers in the next two months.

But defeat in these games would see the midfielder hang up his international boots for good. Lambert said: "The situation was made very clear when I came back to play internationals.

"The deal was that if everything was going well and we had a chance of qualification for Euro 2004 then I would see it through to the end.

"If we lose the first two games, making qualification virtually impossible, then I will retire from international football. The manager will know I have tried and given it my best shot and if that is not good enough then so be it.

"That was the agreement and I'm sticking to it.

"If Berti Vogts wants to change things then that's fine and I will totally respect any decision that is made.

"I came back for a season to try and help out the younger players and we have played a few games now and we have lost a few games. If Berti thinks it is time to let them go their own way then that is entirely up to him."

And Lambert insists that he cannot understand the recent criticism dished out to the fledgling Scotland squad.

He said: "Criticism is part and parcel of football and we have to accept that the same way we take all the plaudits and the praise when they come along.

"But what we also have to remember is that Scotland have a young national side and there is no sense in knocking the team as that affects their confidence.

"We cannot build them up to knock them down again. This is the team that we are relying on to take us through to a major championships.

"This is a young team and we do not have a magic wand to wave and so that all of a sudden Scotland will start beating nations like France."