McGHEE WARY OF BEING EMBARRASSED
MARK McGHEE has warned Scotland’s makeshift squad to give their all against Italy and France or risk embarrassment. The Scots trained at Mar Hall yesterday before flying to Malta for a week-long training camp on Saturday. A game against Euro 2016 qualifiers Italy on Sunday night is followed by a clash with hosts France in Metz six days later. And Gordon Strachan’s assistant believes the quality of the opposition will guard against an endof-season holiday malaise. ‘Gordon was conscious of asking players to come after the season they have had and the disappointment of not qualifying to play against a much lesser opponent,’ he said. ‘That is something the players would have found it difficult to get too motivated for. ‘So, there are two aspects to it. It is Italy and France and they are fantastic teams to get the chance to play against. ‘But the actual quality of them focuses your mind because the players know they have to be up for it. If they come any less than fully cocked, they are going to get embarrassed. ‘That itself is a good thing and it makes this training camp a focused, concentrated, professional experience. ‘This morning, they were at it and the mood around the place seems to be talking about the games and the opposition. There is no chat about tiredness or holidays or long seasons. It is simply about the games and the excitement of playing against these teams.’ Alan Hutton, Lee Wallace and Chris Martin pulled out of the squad nursing injuries, while English play-off performers Robert Snodgrass, Andrew Robertson, Allan McGregor and Barry Bannan will join the squad when they can. A previous end-of-season friendly against the USA in Jacksonville ended in a 5-1 thrashing under previous boss Craig Levein in 2012. The Scots were criticised for placing the emphasis on golf during that trip to America, but McGhee says the need to prepare for the World Cup qualifiers limits the potential for a holiday camp. ‘Definitely,’ he added. ‘Gordon knows it’s the end of the season and knows the boys have all had hard seasons and need a break — so we will get as much work into them as we feel is possible. ‘If that requires a bit of downtime, they will get the downtime. ‘I don’t know if they will be playing golf, but we won’t over-train them. ‘We have a lot of back-up in the form of sports science in the doctors and the physios and so on to advise us. ‘Gordon speaks to Darren Fletcher all the time and uses him as a barometer as to what the squad are feeling, be it tired or needing a rest. ‘We keep in touch with them and sense how they are. ‘But the idea would be to get as much work as possible done in preparation for the up and coming campaign. ‘It’s a training camp, not a holiday camp — absolutely.’