Plastic pitch not an issue, says McGhee

Coach confident squad will take Vilnius artificial surface in stride

Every single Scotland player is ready to play on plastic, according to assistant manager Mark McGhee.

The Scots head to the LFF Stadium in Vilnius for their must-win World Cup qualifying Group F match against Lithuania on Friday night.

The venue’s artificial surface has been flagged up as a potential problem by, among others, St Johnstone midfielder Murray Davidson and national skipper Scott Brown.

Davidson performed on it for Saints as they lost to FK Trakai and has labelled it the worst he has ever played on and claimed it was like “concrete.”

However, McGhee revealed that not one player approached him or boss Gordon Strachan to express concerns about the pitch when the squad met up at their Mar Hall training base yesterday.

Scotland’s No 2 said: “I don’t think it’s in our heads.

“A lot of Scottish-based players will have trained on these pitches over the winter and I’m sure most of the boys down south have.

“An important point is, I also think, that we have a group of players. The best expression is there are no prima donnas.

“They will be happy to go and train on it just so they get a feel for the ball and, after that, I don’t think they will bat an eyelid.

“If a particular player steps up and says he can’t play on it for some reason then Gordon would respect that.

“But they all know we are playing on this pitch and no one has said anything so we expect everyone to be available for selection regardless of the pitch.

“(Scotland coach) Callum Davidson’s St Johnstone played on this pitch not that long ago.

“He reckoned the best comparison was with Kilmarnock’s pitch.

“We thought we would go and train on Killie’s pitch but then it was felt that it wasn’t so similar.

“However, we will train on the actual pitch the night before the game and get a feel for it.”

McGhee, who confirmed that West Bromwich Albion midfielder James Morrison has joined the squad after Steven Fletcher and Tom Cairney called off at the weekend, defended Strachan’s decision not to call up in-form Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor.

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers was left a bit bemused by his player’s omission, given how well he has been playing.

However, McGhee said: “The thing about it is, when we do the sums, we still have James Morrison, James McArthur and Barry Bannan.

“Not only are these guys good players, they are the guys who are in possession and the guys who have been here already through this. They are still playing well for their clubs and deserve to continue.

“At the moment we have too many players and too many riches in that area of the park.

“It’s not that any of us here don’t think he is a good player or that any of us here don’t think he has a future playing for Scotland. But at this moment in time we have the people we need in that area.

“I think our argument as to why he’s not here is a rational one and a sensible one.

“Gordon won’t take offence from Brendan saying that and if something happened against Lithuania where we suddenly needed three players, it’s not impossible somebody like Callum McGregor would be brought in.

“Because Brendan said what he said – and because there has been a feeling from quite a few people that maybe he should be here – that also wouldn’t stop Gordon from picking him.

“He is not cutting off his nose to spite his face.

“We feel it is a balanced decision and we feel it’s the right decision.”

They will be happy to go and train on it just so they get a feel for the ball and, after that, I don’t think they will bat an eyelid. MARK MCGHEE