Scots to go for experience not an experiment
Strachan wary of pitching youngsters in
GORDON Strachan, the Scotland manager, will resist the temptation to start any of the youngsters in his squad against France in Metz tonight to avoid damaging their confidence at international level.
Strachan called up Oliver Burke, Stephen Kingsley, John McGinn, Barrie McKay and Callum Paterson for the friendly double header against Italy and France.
He gave Paterson, the Hearts right back, his international debut and brought on Burke, the Nottingham Forest winger, in the 1-0 defeat to the Azzurri in the Ta’ Qali Stadium in Malta on Sunday evening.
However, he is wary of pitching the younger members of his pool into the final warm-up match that Didier Deschamps’s side will play before the Euro 2016 finals get underway.
A sell-out crowd of over 26,000 is expected in the Stade Saint-Symphorien this evening and the home team are set to field the likes of Oliver Giroud, N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba.
“We’ll be playing against a different system and there’ll be changes to the team because it wasn’t easy against Italy,” said Strachan. “They had a lot of running to do, especially the ones in midfield.
“Will there be any young kids in? I’d like to give them a chance somewhere along the line, but you can’t just throw them in to something like this because you can knock them back.
“You have to remember that Barrie McKay and John McGinn have come from the Scottish Championship. I don’t see anyone getting bought even from the Scottish Premiership to go to a top league, and this is the league below that they’ve been playing in.
“I like what they’ve done, don’t get me wrong, but everyone in this French team plays in the Champions League. I have to make sure they’re completely ready.
“We’re not shy, we’ve put players in, Oliver Burke, Kieran Tierney, John McGinn, but you can only put one or two maximum in at the one time. This is another level from the Czech Republic and Denmark. This is the top.”
Strachan, whose side will get their Russia 2018 qualifying campaign underway with their opening Group F game against Malta in September, has defended his decision to agree to such a demanding fixture at this late stage in the 2015/16 campaign.
“This isn’t a gentle friendly, which is why we took it,” he said. “It had to be a good game because it’s hard to keep your concentration in June.
“It’s worth taking the young lads in those circumstances, of course it is. I’m hoping to get them on the pitch. It’s up to them after that to decide that they’ve liked the experience and work harder and make themselves better.”