Boss: Outcast Cal may start atHampden

Strachan admits late call-up may make the line-up

GORDON Strachan today admitted Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor could start for Scotland in their Russia 2018 qualifier with Slovakia – despite being overlooked for the initial squad.

McGregor was called up at the weekend after his Parkhead team-mates Stuart Armstrong and Scott Brown were forced to withdraw due to injuries.

The 24-year-old has been ignored all year even though he helped Brendan Rodgers’s side go undefeated domestically and land a treble in the 2016/17 campaign.

However, former Hoops boss Strachan, whose side has to beat Jan Kozak’s team to keep their hopes of finishing runners-up in Group F and clinching a play-off spot alive, has stressed he has a chance of featuring.

And he revealed how Rodgers had contacted him after he had drafted the Glaswegian in to the squad tell him he could do a job for Scotland despite his lack of international experience. Strachan said: “Brendan texted me at the weekend after I brought Callum in and told me ‘he will never let you down’. I understand that.

“Just because he hasn’t been in the initial squad, that doesn’t mean he can’t be involved. He has been in and out of the Celtic team, but when he gets in he scores.”

Meanwhile, Strachan has played down the loss of Armstrong and Brown – by stressing they were not irreplaceable like Sergio Aguero or Lionel Messi.

The Celtic midfielders have been important for their country in the victories over Slovenia, Lithuania and Malta and the draw with England this year.

However, Strachan stressed he has strength in depth in their position and revealed the individuals who were set to replace them at were all confident they could come in and make his side perform even better.

He said: “If we spoke to the players after the games we’ve played recently and said to [Matt] Ritchie, [Barry] Bannan and another couple of lads: ‘Do you think you would have made the team better?’ They would all have said ‘aye’.

“If we had asked Ryan Fraser ‘do you think you would have made the team better?’ he would have said ‘yep, I’m not saying I am better than anyone, but I can do that’.

“It’s like Liam Cooper. He is the captain of his club [Leeds United] and you saw what happened when they lost him, they have been affected by that. If you say to him ‘do you think you can do that as good as him?’ He would say ‘yes, I can do that’.

“That’s fine. I don’t think there is an inferiority complex with any of them, because I don’t think we have players who are that far ahead.

“It is different if it is Messi. If you asked a player ‘do you want to step in for Messi?’ they would say ‘no, I don’t want to step in for Messi!’

“I’ve got to say that if we can handle things better in one area of the team it’s in midfield.”