Robbie: A win, I'll take that

LIKE the thousands of other members of the Tartan Army Hearts star Robbie Neilson will have his fingers firmly crossed that Scotland can romp to victory over the Faroe Islands tomorrow as they begin their bid for Euro 2008 glory.

Three or even four goals ahead would have everyone inside Celtic Park breathing a whole lot easier, but for 26-year-old Neilson such a scoreline might just open the way for him to win his first full cap.

But although today Neilson admitted to get the nod from boss Walter Smith, pictured below, would be a dream come true, he'll be happy just to see the Scots make a successful start to their European Championship campaign. Having seen our 2006 World Cup hopes evaporate almost before they had begun with a disastrous start which saw just two points gathered from the opening three matches and our Euro 2004 campaign undermined with a 2-2 draw against the Faroes in the opening game, three points tomorrow are imperative.

To that end Neilson fully expects and will understand Smith's reasoning in fielding his strongest possible side in an effort to guard against any sort of slip-up in a qualifying group which also contains World Cup holders Italy, France, the side they defeated in the final in Berlin only a few weeks ago, and Ukraine.

Even so, Neilson, as one of only two uncapped players in Smith's 23-man squad - Celtic's Stephen McManus is the other - insisted he's thoroughly enjoying his first true experience of the Scotland set-up. One of a large number of players who were called to a Scotland get-together at St Andrews the other week, Neilson admitted it was an entirely different experience to be involved just as the serious action is about to get underway.

He said: "I enjoyed being involved in the training camp a couple of weeks ago but now I'm here in the proper sense with the European Championship qualifiers to look forward to.

"With 23 players in the squad and me uncapped at this level it's going to be difficult because I know I'm not going to be the first name on the team-sheet.

"Of course I understand why Walter will go with tried and trusted players, guys who have gone a very good job for him over the past few months. It's going to be hard for us to qualify for the finals because of the quality of the other countries in our group, but with tomorrow's match and next Wednesday's game in Lithuania we have a good chance to get six points right way.

"I have to respect that but at the same time I have to remain optimistic. All I can do is come here, show what I can do in training and hope to be part of the game tomorrow at some stage."

A healthy lead with, say, ten minutes remaining may enhance Neilson's chance of being blooded at this level, but the Tynecastle defender admitted that even against the minnows of the Faroe Islands such a margin was unlikely.

Based on his growing European experience with Hearts, he said: "You can never go into a game thinking you will win easily. It would be nice to think we could get a few goals tomorrow but simply winning and taking the points is the most important thing." Neilson's call-up is, of course, reward for his performances with Hearts over the past couple of seasons and is another new experience following the Gorgie outfit's flirtation with the Champions League.

And it also throws up the intriguing prospect of a Scotland side laden with Hearts players - captain Steven Pressley, playmaker Paul Hartley and goalkeeper Craig Gordon are all there - facing Lithuania in Kaunas on Wednesday night, players from the Baltic state enjoying a growing influence within the walls of Tynecastle with the arrival over the past fortnight of Marius Zaliukas, Andrius Velicka and Kestutis Ivaskevicius taking the contingent from that country to seven.

Of those Zaliukas, Deividas Cesnauskis, Saulius Mikoliunas and Edgar Jankauskas were all named in Lithuania's squad although the latter has been forced to pull out with a thigh injury which will see him also miss Hearts UEFA Cup games against Sparta Prague. Neilson said: "There was a bit of banter in the dressing room between the Scottish and Lithuanian players when the draw was first made but since then it's not really been mentioned as we've all been concentrating on our hectic schedule with Hearts rather than the international scene.

"We went our separate ways following our win over Inverness Caley last Saturday but it will be strange to line up against some of your own team-mates in such a game."

Neilson, of course, becomes just the latest Hearts star to enjoy international status, the Edinburgh club's influence on the Scotland squad strong with former Tynecastle favourites David Weir, who will win his 50th cap in Lithuania provided he isn't injured as he captains his country tomorrow, Gary Naysmith and Scott Severin all involved. He said: "There's a very strong link with four current players, three former players and, if you consider that Andy Webster will come back in when he begins playing again and that Neil McCann isn't in this particular squad, you can see just how Hearts have come on over the past few years."

At 36 Weir is the oldest player in Smith's thoughts but Neilson admitted he's amazed at the durability of the Everton defender.

He said: "David was at Tynecastle when I joined Hearts at 16. He was an established first-team player having come from Falkirk and over the three years we were at the club together he did very well for us.

"To still be playing not only English Premiership but international football at his age shows just how well he's looked after himself."

Neilson, no doubt, will be keen to demonstrate the same longevity as Weir - but in the meantime he'll happily continue his efforts to secure that all-elusive first appearance in a dark blue jersey.

Taken from the Daily Record