I’d like to manage Celtic one day
THE TARTAN Army are voting with their feet, but Gordon Strachan insists Scotland’s players will stand tall at Hampden tonight.
Second-bottom of Group F, they face Slovenia knowing they must win to have any chance ofWorld Cup qualification.
But despite the importance of the fixture, it is set to be watched by the smallest crowd since Craig Brown’s final game in charge, against Latvia in 2001, with only around 25,000 expected.
“I have picked my side and there won’t be anybody with a weak mind out there,” said Strachan, whose own future hangs on the result.
“It doesn’t matter whether there are 50 fans there, no fans or whatever, you have to generate the atmosphere and that winning spirit between you.
“They might not be at the game. But we know we’ll have five- and- a- half million Scots wanting us to win. “That will inspire us.”
CRAIG GORDON has vowed to make up for lost time with Scotland.
The goalkeeper missed two years of football with a knee injury before making a hugely-successful comeback at Celtic.
From looking like he might have to retire, Gordon has gone on to become a double title winner, play in the Champions League and reclaim his spot as No. 1 for the national side.
These are tense times for most involved with the Scotland team.
Manager Gordon Strachan needs a victory over Slovenia tonight to keep hopes ofWorld Cup qualification alive – and to save his job.
Gordon, however, is as enthusiastic as ever about representing his country.
Pulling on the Scotland jersey was the last thing missing from his return to action and he did that against England last November.
Gordon, who was speaking at an event with Vauxhall, the Scotland team sponsor, said: “Playing for Scotland was a big focus of what I wanted to achieve coming back.
“I thought that if I did get back playing well for a big team, getting noticed by the national team would put everything behind me and get me back to where I felt I was before the injury. It was a big thing for me to get chosen to play in a competitive game again.
“The next thing would be to stay in the team and try get to 50 caps, then go beyond that and get as many as I possibly can.”
The 34-year-old will pick up his 46th cap at Hampden tonight and looks at the way other keepers kept going into their late 30s and beyond.
He went on: “I want to keep playing for Scotland for as long as possible. It obviously depends on my body.
“I want to play for my club and country for as long as I can. If I can steer clear of injuries and be able to play that
many games, I will do that.
“It’s not easy because there are so many fixtures and you don’t get time off, but that’s what I want to do.
“Guys like Gianluigi Buffon and Shay Given have managed to do it.
“Buffon is now over the 1000-game mark. I have a long way to go to catch that.
“You are a long time retired. I had a taste of that when I was out and I don’t want to experience it again.
“I have no intention of retiring from Scotland anytime soon.”
Gordon hopes the introduction of six Celtic players can boost the performance of the Scotland team tonight.
He said: “We are playing well at the moment. “We know each other’s game and there’s a case for everybody playing.
“There are partnerships like the one with Scott Brown and Stuart Armstong in midfield that works well.
“We’re high in confidence and not used to losing, so you go into the games expecting to do well.
“You can never expect to win any game, but if you go in with the confidence that you are playing well, it certainly helps.”