FLIGHT RISKS
Strachan faces headache after delayed return
SCOTLAND boss Gordon Strachan spent yesterday attempting to minimise the damage of Scotland’s nightmare trip to Georgia.
Friday night’s 1-0 defeat has left the national team’s prospects of qualifying for Euro 2016 hanging by a thread and preparations for the visit of Germany tomorrow night were thrown into deeper turmoil after Strachan’s squad endured a protracted return journey from Tbilisi.
An air traffic backlog at Amsterdam saw the SFA’s chartered plane delayed by several hours on its arrival into Tbilisi, with the knock-on effects meaning the squad did not emerge from Glasgow Airport until 6:45 yesterday morning, a full 12 hours after the final whistle.
A rest and recovery day had been planned for those who featured in Georgia but, although the rest of the squad trained yesterday afternoon, fatigue remains a concern on the final full day of preparation for tomorrow night’s Hampden fixture.
The delays came on top of a gruelling shift in the Boris Paichadze Stadium, where temperatures in the high 20s contributed to a weary performance.
Even before enduring the flight problems, Strachan had admitted that he would consider making changes for the Germany game which, in the wake of the Georgian disappointment, he concedes his team cannot afford to lose.
‘I had an idea but I might just have to tweak it a wee bit,’ he admitted. ‘We’ll have to have a look and see what everybody says on the medical side on who can go again. We have to look at that.’
Friday’s defeat means Scotland now sit fourth in Group D, a point behind the Republic of Ireland who occupy the play-off position and three adrift of Poland, who are in the second automatic qualifying spot behind Germany.
Asked if his team would need at least a draw tomorrow night, Strachan added: ‘I would think so. We are not going to play for a point, but that would keep everybody in it.
‘We have to get better passes and crosses in and if we do get a couple of them, then we can take our chances and score.
‘You never know. On Monday night at 12 o’clock, we might all be feeling a wee a bit different — or it might be another battle on our hands with two games left.’