NOW IT’S GAME ON

STRACHAN: ‘It’s Scottish territory ... and you’ll know it’

GORDON STRACHAN last night tipped the tartan army to transform celtic Park into o a Scotland cauldron.

With Parkhead a happy hunting g ground for Irish trio Martin O’Neill, , Roy Keane and aiden McGeady in n the past, former Scotland skipperr David Weir claimed the SFa should d have plumped for Ibrox to host the e crucial Euro 2016 qualifier instead.

a key figure in persuading thee governing body to go for the biggest t possible capacity, however, Strachann claims celtic’s home will become e ‘Scotland Park’ for the night.

‘tomorrow, that’s Scottish territoryy and you’ll know it’s Scottish territory,’ ’ said the national manager.

‘there will be 55,000 Scots fans in n

there. You’ll be in no doubt where you are tomorrow. You’re in Scotland and Scotland are playing… against Ireland.’ Denying there is any kind of advantage for the Irish in playing at a venue where some have played on Champions League nights, former Celtic boss Strachan expects a very different experience this evening. ‘It’s different people,’ he insisted. ‘I believe the atmosphere will be terrific but in a different way. ‘There are a lot of things that will be different. Tomorrow is Scotland. I think the big nights, I know what is coming, it will inspire all the players. It will manage to get another few per cent out of them. ‘They can drink all the water they want, eat all the carbohydrates they want — but the extra bit tomorrow will come from our fans.’ Former Rangers and Scotland skipper Weir disagreed, saying: ‘If I’m being honest, this game should have been at Ibrox. That would have been more of an advantage for Scotland. ‘The game is where it is, so we can use that as an excuse or we can use it as motivation. The stadium doesn’t win the game, the players and the performance win the game.’ The Scots defeated Georgia 1-0 in a home qualifier at Ibrox last month. Revealing he had a big say in opting for the bigger venue for the Irish game, however, Strachan added: ‘I was part of the decision and now, we’re getting more fans in here. ‘These two games, I think we’ve done the right thing, no matter what the result will be. ‘We’re going to get 55,000 Scotsmen in there tomorrow, we couldn’t have done that anywhere else. That will help us.’ Crystal Palace midfielder James McArthur will miss tonight’s game after withdrawing through injury. He joins his former Hamilton and Wigan team-mate James McCarthy, of Ireland, on the sidelines.