DON’T GET CARRIED AWAY!

Strachan urges the Tartan Army to be patient and not reckon on a goal rush against minnows Malta

By Graeme Croser GORDON STRACHAN last night warned the Tartan Army not to expect another Scotland goal deluge against Malta. Fresh from his team’s stirring 3-0 away victory over Lithuania, the national coach admits he is tempted to go with the same starting line-up for tomorrow night’s World Cup qualifier at Hampden. Even although his team opened the campaign with a 5-1 away victory over the Maltese last year, he expects the group’s bottom seeds to put up stern resistance. Highlighting the fact England required three late goals to secure their 4-0 victory in Ta’ Qali on Friday night, Strachan (right) issued a call for the Scotland support to stick with his players as they try to break down the Maltese and maintain hope of making it to the finals in Russia next summer. ‘The key for us is patience,’ said the national coach. ‘If you come along to the game and think it’s going to be shots from everywhere, you’re going to be disappointed. It won’t be like that. ‘Malta have so many big players in their team. They’re really disciplined and strong. So it will be a night for real patience and if you’re going to get upset and flustered, that will play into their hands.’ Tomorrow marks a year to the day since a Robert Snodgrass hat-trick opened the campaign with a bang for the Scots, but Strachan refuses to take too much encouragement from that scoreline. ‘Looking at that game, we got breaks at the