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| <-Page | <-Team | Sat 26 Aug 2006 Hearts 4 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1 | Team-> | Page-> |
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| 88 | of 199 | Mauricio Pinilla 20 ;Jamie Mole 43 ;Andrew Driver 81 ;Bruno Aguiar 91 | L SPL | H |
Defensive rock who has stood firm for 48 capsMARK WILSON September 01 2006 Gary Naysmith has spent nine years seeking supportive advice from David Weir as he has traversed the peaks and troughs of professional football. That paternal influence is now enjoyed by the wider family of the Scotland squad, with Naysmith believing it will be crucial to maintaining a happy equilibrium during the Euro 2008 qualifiers. Weir will move within one appearance of the Scottish Football Association hall of fame when he captains the national side in tomorrow's Group B opener against the Faroe Islands at Celtic Park. At 36 years old, the Falkirk-born centre-back shows no sign of staggering into retirement. A one-year contract with Everton has been signed, while Walter Smith's faith remains absolute in the player he tempted out of international retirement, having earlier brought him to Goodison. Naysmith agrees that there can be few better role models than the intelligent Weir for the fledgling talents on the fringes of international recognition. "I cannot speak highly enough of David," said the 27-year-old left-back. "I've played alongside him for nearly nine years at Hearts and Everton and he is a top-drawer player. The gaffer [Smith] says he is the best signing he ever made in his managerial career in terms of value for money. "He's a great pro and deserves to get 50 caps. I know he had his problems with the previous manager and he wasn't happy about one or two things, but that is in the past. He's come back and not put a foot wrong. Look at the results since he's come into the team, we've really picked up. "I room with him at Everton and with Scotland and, when I first moved down to Liverpool and was in a hotel, he took me round to his house for Christmas dinner. "Davie was always there for me if I needed advice and he was always the person I would go and see first. I suppose he's been a father figure to me, even though he won't be too happy with that description." Meeting the Faroes may send an unwanted flashback shuddering through Weir. He is a veteran of the 2-2 draw in Toftir four years ago as Berti Vogts' first match in charge of Scotland ended in ignominy. The criticism Weir received from Vogts in the aftermath - via the German media – influenced his decision to step away from international football. "I was injured for that Faroes game and the press coverage in England is not so good," said Naysmith. "I just got what Davie had said and he wasn't too happy. He didn't feel that it was in his best interests to keep playing, so I think he did the right thing for himself. "I wasn't surprised, though, when Walter asked him back after he got the job." Naysmith has also made a return of sorts. A complicated and rather gruesome-sounding ankle injury saw him miss the start of Smith's tenure but he was included in the successful Kirin Cup expedition to Japan. "The biggest thing for me is to be back playing regularly," said Naysmith. "Hopefully, I'll play in these two Scotland games and keep playing when I get back to Everton. "I had an operation to tidy my ankle out and it became infected. The stats say for every 100 operations, there will be two or three which get an infection. Unfortunately, I was one of them. "I was out seven months and I'd say, although it's hard to tell, that maybe half of that was down to the infection. "I couldn't move with it. I had a sort of hoover system on my ankle which was putting in clean fluid and sucking out the infection, so I had to take that machine with me everywhere." After seeing the World Cup qualifiers undone before they had barely started with one point from the opening two games, Naysmith is not countenancing failure against the Faroes or Lithuania. "The first couple of games in the last campaign killed us, so it is important we get off to a good start this time," he said. "The big games take of themselves – the ones against Italy, Ukraine and France – we seem to do well in those games. "Our biggest thing is keeping focused and trying to get the job done against Lithuania, Faroes and Georgia. If you can take the majority of points, home and away, against these sides, I think it puts you in a good position."  Taken from the Herald |
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| <-Page | <-Team | Sat 26 Aug 2006 Hearts 4 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1 | Team-> | Page-> |
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