Stein was appointed Scotland manager on a full-time basis on 5 October 1978, which was his 56th birthday. 65,872 attended his first game in charge, a 3–2 win against Norway at Hampden, despite the bus services in Glasgow being on strike. Stein had picked a team with only players based in England, but he felt that he could bring through more home-based players. He also believed that Scotland had tended to play with too much emotion and naivety, which he wanted to replace with an emphasis on retaining possession of the football. Two defeats to Belgium meant that Scotland failed to qualify for the 1980 European Championship. This was followed by losses to Northern Ireland and England in the 1980 British Home Championship, which led to some criticism in the media.