In the face of mounting pressure and disappointment from fans, Gregor Townsend remains resolute in his role as Scotland’s head coach. Despite a vocal segment of the fanbase calling for his resignation, Townsend is determined to stay the course.

The recent loss to Argentina at Murrayfield, which ended in a 33-24 defeat after Scotland squandered a significant 21-point advantage, has intensified scrutiny on Townsend. The team’s collapse, marked by conceding five tries in a mere 20-minute period during the second half, elicited rare boos from the home crowd at the national stadium.

This public display of frustration from the supporters has only amplified the debate surrounding Townsend’s future. Even with a freshly inked contract that extends his tenure until the 2027 World Cup, many fans feel that his eight-year era should come to a close.

Nevertheless, Townsend remains unyielding. Ahead of Scotland’s final autumn fixture against Tonga, he firmly dismissed any notion of stepping down. “No, I’ve got a job to do,” he stated confidently. Townsend acknowledged the fans’ right to voice their opinions but emphasized his commitment to leading the team to performances that would make the supporters proud.

However, speaking ahead of Sunday’s final autumn clash, with Tonga, the head coach was in defiant mood when asked if he had entertained any thoughts this week of walking away.

‘No, I’ve got a job to do,’ replied Townsend. ‘People are entitled to their opinion. My job is to do the best I can for the team and to work with the team in producing performances our supporters are proud of.

Townsend’s side were booed at end of Argentina game but the head coach fights on

It was a tough day for Townsend as his Scotland team blew 21-point lead over Pumas

‘If you’ve got a job to do, you do it, and that’s what I’m here to do. If someone wants to not give me that job any more, then that will be up to them.

‘But I’m totally committed in getting the best of the team, the best of myself, and that sometimes means working harder, sometimes means working smarter.

‘I know they [the supporters] were very proud of the performance against New Zealand [despite Scotland losing 25-17] and have been for a number of matches and seasons, because we’re getting record crowds coming along.

‘We’re getting crowds that support our team. But the end of the game was disappointing for them, disappointing for us, and we have to be better.

‘I would expect there’s been criticism, but if you get caught up in any of that, or read it, it’s going to distract you from what is important.’

Pressed on whether he expects his position to be under review at the end of the autumn, Townsend replied: ‘I don’t know. We review every campaign, but you’d have to ask someone else on that.

‘My focus is on how we can review each game, how we can review each campaign, and how we can get better and deliver performances our supporters are going to be proud of.’

Townsend has presided over two failed World Cup campaigns which saw Scotland knocked out of the pool stage on both occasions in 2019 and 2023.

The Scotland players are in disbelief after Argentina turned around huge deficit to win

Townsend insists he has never thought about quitting his job as Scotland head coach

Scotland have also won only two matches in each of the past two Six Nations campaigns, as well as sliding down the world rankings to ninth despite being fifth just over two years ago.

Pressed on whether he has reached the end of the road, he replied: ‘No, I disagree. I’ve seen the team play the best rugby it’s played in the eight years [I’ve been in charge] over the last two or three weeks.

‘We’re very disappointed we didn’t get a win against New Zealand and didn’t get a win against Argentina. We created enough against New Zealand [to win] and we were 21-0 up against Argentina.

‘But to get in those positions, to be 21-0 up, the team is delivering up to that point. Yeah, we sensed the disappointment in the crowd. The crowd, it was like an exhale of disappointment [booing at the end].

‘We all felt it – what a flat end to the game. And nobody’s hurting as much as us as a group. But sometimes those real painful moments as a group that you live through, you come through stronger.

‘Actually, the process this week and how we’ve met, what we’ve resolved, have to be non-negotiables. I know it’ll make us a stronger team. We probably won’t get that opportunity to really test it out.

‘Of course we will this weekend against Tonga, but we won’t get it tested out until the Six Nations.’