Smith hands veteran Weir the captaincy

The old and new of Scotland will be given prominence in this morning's Kirin Cup meeting with Bulgaria as David Weir captains the side which will be spearheaded in attack by Kris Boyd.

Weir celebrated his 36th birthday at the team hotel in Kobe yesterday and was presented with a watch by Walter Smith to mark his further ascent up the veteran scale.

The Scotland manager made it clear he harbours no concerns over the centre-back's advancing years and, with Everton having opened discussions about another season in the Premiership, Weir is destined to play an integral part in the Euro 2008 qualifiers.

His wealth of experience will be drawn on by the new faces starting their international careers in Japan this week, among them Boyd, who is set to play 90 minutes against Hristo Stoichkov's team.

"Davie looks after himself and does the right things," said Smith. "He was telling me the other day how he'd played 40 games for Everton this season.

"He's one of a number of players just now who're showing that if you have that kind of dedication then you can last a bit longer than people might expect. If players have the desire to continue and prepare properly, as Davie has always done, then there is that option.

"He'll captain the side against Bulgaria and I think he was the obvious choice for this trip. He deserves the chance and I have a great deal of time for him. I tried to buy him when I was at Rangers and then I took him to Everton so we crossed paths eventually.

"He's a really good professional and a good lad; someone who's respected by all his team-mates."

Weir's first captaincy, in the Kobe Wing stadium, will come on his 47th cap. He is now closing in on a place within the Scottish Football Association's hall of fame for those who break the half-century barrier.

"It would be nice to make the 50 but I only look from one game to the next," he said. "I just want to be fit and available when the next matches come around.

"To be captain against Bulgaria would be fantastic. I would take great pride in that and its something that any player would dream of doing."

Weir admitted that a Japanese harbourside hotel co-joined to a shopping mall was an odd venue to see in his latest birthday, but he was happy to have made the wearying trip across the globe.

"I'll keep on going as long as I can because you're a long time not playing," he said. "As long I can do it and as long as I get picked, I'll keep going.

"All international games are interesting and different. They all offer experiences and the more you can play in the better.

"The games are the most important thing but if I can help the other players then that's good. There will be a lot of guys starting their international careers on this trip."

One of those is Boyd, scorer of 37 goals for Rangers and Kilmarnock, who will be given the opportunity to transfer his remarkable proficiency in the Bank of Scotland Premierleague to international level.

"Boyd will play from the start," said Smith. "Kris is a goalscorer and you don't often see him getting involved in other aspects of the game. There's no point in giving him a half or whatever. You have to give him the opportunity to play the full game.

"Like a lot of goalscorers, the onus is placed on the team to create opportunities for him. We have to see whether we can fit in with that. If he turns in a good performance then we have to repay him by creating a number of opportunities for him to do what he does best - scoring and finishing moves."

Scotland team

v Bulgaria, Kobe, 11.15am (BBC 1, first half, BBC 2 Scotland second half)

(4-4-2) Alexander; Murty, Anderson, Weir, Naysmith; Fletcher, G Caldwell, Severin, Teale; Boyd, McCulloch

Taken from the Herald