Jack McConnell has defended Labour's record in devolved government and indicated that he will not be blown off course by critics within his own party.

While the first minister conceded that the Scottish parliament has been a "disappointment" in its first four years, he insisted "great strides" have been made in areas such as education.

"Step by step we are tackling the challenges that we set ourselves and were set by the public, more importantly, and I hope that we are learning all the time from the successes as well as the failures," McConnell said in an interview with ePolitix.com.

Despite his optimism, the Scottish Labour leader conceded that the four-year-old parliament has let voters down in some areas.

He cited the "spiralling cost" of the new parliament building, the conduct of debates and the focus on issues "not seen by people to be part of those core priorities of education, health, transport, crime and jobs" as areas of concern.

Amid criticism that he is failing to deliver the radical policies demanded by Labour activists, McConnell signalled that he will not be blown off course.

"I'm not first minister for Labour Party members, I'm first minister for Scots, and my objective in running an efficient but effective reforming devolved government in Scotland is to make sure that Scotland becomes a better place," he said.

"There will be people who will be disappointed with particular decisions along the way, but I think that the programme of investment and reform that we are now engaged in has the potential to radically transform Scotland."

McConnell also expressed concern that the war with Iraq, coupled with a wider sense of apathy, could seriously dent turnout in May's election.

"I have two worries about the election: One is that we don't get the turnout that the importance of the parliament would justify," he said.

"I've been stressing since Christmas the vital importance of people voting regardless of what way they intend to vote because whoever is first minister after May needs the certainty of a strong mandate when they're conducting discussions inside Scotland or outside Scotland.

"The second concern is obviously about the way in which the news media will be dominated by the situation in the Middle East. Over, at least the immediate period ahead, this might lead to a lack of information about the clear choice that exists for the election being available to voters."

Whilst he expressed confidence that the election will still go ahead on May 1, he conceded that it could be delayed in "extreme circumstances".

Quizzed about the possibility of delaying the election because of events in the Gulf, the first minister said: "I'm keen that the election goes ahead on 1 May and I don't think there's any problem with that happening.

"The date of the election has been known for four years and I think it would take quite extreme circumstances for that date to be moved. I think it is possible to have an election campaign where the choice becomes crystal clear for Scottish voters."