ALL CHANGE
Striker Martin is shock contender in Scots shake-up
GORDON STRACHAN is poised to make a raft of changes for Scotland’s make-orbreak qualifier with Germany tonight.
Derby County’s Chris Martin is a shock contender to lead the attack ahead of Steven Fletcher. Crystal Palace midfielder James McArthur is also in the Scotland manager’s thoughts as he battles to revive hopes of reaching the Euro 2016 finals after a dismal defeat in Georgia. Strachan (left) is also contemplating a start for Celtic winger James Forrest after his side failed to muster a shot on target in Tbilisi. Desperate to i nject some height, strength and pace into his team against the physically i mposing world champions, Strachan hinted at a possible surprise inclusion up front when he said: ‘Martin gives you an option. He has strength, he can stand in there and take the ball in.
‘He can’t run about like other
people — but he has the strength to get the ball under control and bring people into the game. His scoring record is as good as anybody’s in the last two years.’ Martin, 26, has mustered five caps so far but just one start against England last November. Regular starter Fletcher had a frustrating night in Tbilisi, albeit his experience might yet win the day. Asked about Fletcher’s readiness to face Germany, Strachan said: ‘I’ve never asked him. I shouldn’t be wondering about asking him how he’s doing: “Are you OK?”.’ On Fletcher’s recent lack of goals, he added: ‘It’s not like he’s on his own. We’ve had strikers who haven’t scored goals in the last 35 years. We’ve not been prolific.’ Midfield is also under review after Scott Brown and James Morrison had an off-night in Georgia. McArthur could win a rare start after Strachan said: ‘Listen, McArthur has been great for Crystal Palace. If anybody is in the form team just now, it’s him.’ Brown had one of his quieter nights last Friday, with Darren Fletcher another option. Indicating the Celtic captain will survive a cull, however, Strachan said: ‘I don’t know when Scott was last 100 per cent fit but that’s what good players have to put up with. He just plays, he doesn’t want to miss training. So can you afford to leave that inspiration or fight other than on the pitch?’ Uppermost in his thinking is matching German size and strength. ‘They can look like men against boys because they are so good at passing and physical as well,’ said Strachan. ‘So I need to get height, strength, patience and intelligence — and how do we counter attack and attack them and take players on? ‘I love to see players taking players on. How do we put that in the team? We have the system, it’s trying to get the names and bodies in there. ‘You’re playing against real men; World Cup winners, Champions League players. Unfortunately our guys don’t play against that. Even our guys in England get very little of that.’