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Smith: We have won respectDARRYL BROADFOOT Chief Football Writer in Kaunas September 07 2006 Walter Smith hailed the ongoing restoration of Scotland's international respectability after a resolute 2-1 victory against Lithuania. With France next on the agenda at Hampden Park next month, the national manager insisted the World Cup runners-up have every reason to travel with trepidation. Having surged to the top of the group, he expects Scotland to be taken seriously again in international competition and predicts they will be considered a genuine force to be reckoned with by the supposed superiors, France, Italy and Ukraine. "I hope [the players] are beginning to be respected again," he said, after stretching Scotland's away form to seven matches undefeated. "I think I will enjoy tonight before thinking about France. We do not claim to be the best but, hopefully, we will give the other teams in the group a tough match. "They have flaws as players and I have flaws as manager, but I think we have at least achieved respectability. We are not claiming we will beat France or Italy, but what I hope is that when they come to Scotland they know they will have to perform exceptionally well to win the game." Smith hailed the colossal contribution of David Weir, a fitting performance as he entered the Hall of Fame. He commended the unselfish play of Kenny Miller and bemoaned his suspension for France. The manager also reserved special praise for Christian Dailly, a fringe player at West Ham United but a man who overcame a nervy start last night to give Scotland an advantage they refused to relinquish. Moreover, he was satisfied by the collective spirit central to the revival. "We work as a team and that gives us the basis to achieve a result or two," he said. "You can see they are getting a bit more confidence to come forward away from home. I have been saying for ages we are picking up again, and while I have said we have our flaws, one of them is not attitude. "We might not have the overall quality of some of the teams in our group but we have a spirit and self-belief about ourselves now. How far that can take us is the imponderable." Smith also complimented the groundstaff for their efforts in improving the playing surface in the S Darius and S Girenas Stadium. UEFA had noted its shambolic condition 24 hours before kick-off but it had improved beyond recognition by kick-off. "It was 100 times better. The pitch was okay for the game. It wasn't too good last night in training but the groundstaff worked on it," he said. Smith admitted to some nerves when Lithuania pulled one back with five minutes to go. "They had some late pressure after they scored, but it would have been disappointing if we had conceded a second goal at the end," he added. "We had to change the side around after injuries to James [McFadden] and Nigel [Quashie]. Paul Hartley had to move position three times but it didn't have too great an effect to the team." Meanwhile, Weir was understandably more pleased by the three points garnered than his own personal honour. "It means so much to win my 50th cap, but to win it with a win makes it that bit more important," said the captain. "When they scored late on, it turned the game around a bit. But we deserved it and there are a lot of things to be happy about. "I have always been delighted to play for Scotland and it was nice to come back and get the opportunity. It is nights like this which make it all worthwhile. "We will just look to the next game now. This is a very tough group. "We have started well and have to be positive and enjoy it now and take it for what it is. "But we know there is a lot of hard work to do but cannot do better than we have so far." While the Goodison Park centre-half insists nobody is getting carried away with the initial success, he believes the French will be taking a different view of the trip to Glasgow. "There is still a long way to go but we have to be happy with what we have done so far. We have only played two games and there are 12 to play in the group. "Obviously, if we continue the way we have, we will not be far away. But we are not going to say we are going to do this and that, because we know we will fall flat on our face. "We will just move on to our next game against France, which will be a really tough game, so there is no point getting carried away. But I think France may start looking at it a bit differently now." Weir's partner in defence, Steven Pressley is relishing his return to training with Hearts where he will have the bragging rights over his Lithuanian team-mates. Pressley also became the club's most-capped player after making his 30th appearance for the national team. "I spoke to Saulius Mikoliunas and Edgaras Jankauskas after the game and it will be nice to see them all tomorrow. "I think the likes of Italy, Ukraine and France will all struggle to get three points from here, though. This was a fantastic result for us. "It was a very proud moment to overtake Bobby Walker's [Hearts] record."  Taken from the Herald |
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