Cherchesov scoffs at idea of Russians treating Scots lightly

Russia national team coach Stanislav Cherchesov bristled at suggestions his team would take Scotland lightly tonight.

The home side have 15 points out of a possible 18, with a win enough to guarantee qualification for next year’s European Championships.

They are playing their first game at the Luzhniki Stadium since the win over Spain last month and have won their last five games in the group.

Asked about any chance of complacency, Cherchesov said: “Is this what you wish for? We have four games to go, 12 points up or down. We are taking this game seriously no matter what, regardless of the table situation.

“I would like to say the situation our group is still undecided – we have four fixtures to go. This is a situation we created ourselves and we take the upcoming match seriously. You would have to ask my Scottish colleague about the form of Scotland.”

Both Cherchesov and skipper Artem Dzyuba were quizzed on the form of goalkeeper Andrey Lunyov, the Zenit St Petersburg stopper, with Dzyuba coming to an impassioned defence of his clubmate.

Dzyuba said: “I would like to say a few words in a defence of my friend. There is currently a media campaign and attacks on Lunyov; if you look at the statistics, he has the least number of goals scored against.

“He plays well for Zenit and for the national side. Everyone makes mistakes. You’re going to make mistakes unless you sit and do nothing. He deserves to play for the national side so I would ask you in the media to stop the attacks and stop finding one person and blaming him.

Cherchesov added: “I have no concerns. He had shown good form for years and I recently had an individual conversation with him. I had not seen any problems in this regard.”

Stanislav Cherchesov is wary of Scotland threat.