Burley watched his men dismantled in Oslo after Gary Caldwell foolishly picked up two yellow cards inside two minutes at the Ullevaal Stadium.

The result saw Scotland slip to third in World Cup qualifying Group Nine, severely hitting their hopes of reaching next summer's finals in South Africa.

"Up to the sending-off, I thought we maybe had the better of it as far as chances were concerned," said manager Burley, who also lost Christophe Berra to injury late on.

"After the sending-off, they scored straight from the deflected free-kick.

"We conceded one with 10 men right on half-time, and then it was an uphill battle."

Burley branded disputed Caldwell's second booking "very harsh", which came after the Celtic defender hauled back John Carew.

"I thought it was very harsh," Burley told BBC Radio Scotland.

"Carew was pulling Gary, and Gary was trying to hold his own. I don't think he (the referee) realised he'd booked Gary Caldwell.

"The Norwegian players said he'd already been booked."

Burley added: "It wasn't our night. Things went against us, decisions went against us.

"We've lost it but we've still got two games left."

Burley defended his tactics tonight, saying: "Up to the sending-off, it wasn't a problem. They had one chance and we had two or three."

The Scotland boss is adamant two wins in Scotland's final two games against Macedonia and Holland will still be good enough for a play-off spot.

"I think six will be enough - I've always said that," he said.

"Nothing's changed. Tonight's been a disastrous result but circumstances have dictated that."

He added: "We can look for excuses, we can look for circumstances, but it's gone - we didn't get any points tonight.

"If we can't win our two games, we don't deserve to get in the play-offs."

Despite mounting pressure on his position, Burley vowed to soldier on, insisting it was up to the Scottish Football Association whether he stayed on beyond 2009 if he failed to reach the play-offs.

"At the end of the day, they're my employers," said Burley, who revealed he withdrew defender Steven Caldwell early in the second half due to a groin injury.

"Hopefully, we don't have another night like tonight."