Fletcher and Berra must bide time

By Glenn Gibbons
Chief Football Writer
GEORGE Burley may have acquired a new broom on the day he became Scotland manager, but it is unlikely to be put to work until after his first match, next month's friendly against Croatia at Hampden.
As a result, some young pretenders to a place in the national squad for the forthcoming World Cup qualifying campaign will be required to add a little patience to whatever other qualities have brought them into the public consciousness and, more significantly, to Burley's attention.

These will almost certainly include Steven Fletcher, the 20-year-old Hibernian forward, and Christophe Berra, Hearts' 23-year-old captain and central defender. Widespread anticipation of the promotion of these two from the under-21 team seems certain to be frustrated, at least until May.

Fletcher's 21st birthday on 26 March falls on the day the Scots have their first outing under Burley, but, from the manager's ruminations on the immediate future yesterday, it became clear that the player will not have a cap to go with the candles.

"Barring unforeseen circumstances, the squad for the Croatia match will be the one we summoned for our first get-together at the beginning of this month," said Burley. "That initial group will be trimmed before the game itself, but it doesn't mean anyone who is cut or anyone who is not included will not be taking part in the World Cup qualifying.

"We've been trying to get through as many matches as possible and we've covered just about everything in Scotland and England. Everybody has his own way of pushing into the squad and that's what I will be looking at.

"For the younger contenders, there are several criteria, which include playing regularly for their clubs at a good level and, of course, their own form, the standard of their performances. I know there is a nucleus of promising younger players coming through and they will all be judged on their individual merits.

"Players like Fletcher and Berra are playing regularly for their clubs and they are obviously the type we will be looking at. Christophe was a young player when I was at Hearts and was quick, strong and naturally left-footed. Obviously, he has developed well in the past couple of seasons. The same goes for Steven Fletcher, who has been playing consistently well.

"I will be approaching the job with an open mind, as you have to. Some people think that a new manager will automatically want to change the squad by bringing in what could be called his own players, but I don't think that's necessarily the case."

Burley, however, re-affirmed his awareness that the group who came close to qualifying for Euro 2008 from an impossibly tough group has weaknesses that will have to be addressed. Not least of these is the lack of depth that was betrayed by the 2-0 defeat in Georgia when four regular first picks were missing.

"What I have to do above all," said Burley, "is to find ways of moving us on, of improving year-on-year. It's what players themselves have to do individually and what I have to do as the manager of a team.

"We can't look at the past and think how well we've done. That's already gone. We have to look ahead, and that means the World Cup matches, which start in September with tough away trips to Macedonia and Iceland. They're the priority for me and we want to get on the front foot from the start.

"Taking 24 points from 12 games in the European qualifying was exceptional for that group, but it still wasn't enough. This time, we'll have only eight matches and we'll have to do better. At this moment, you're probably talking about 17 points to ensure a place in the top two.

"At the get-together three weeks ago, this is what we spoke about, looking for answers to the question: how can we take things forward?"

Burley awaits word from the SFA that it has another friendly arranged for May and one for August, the only remaining dates available before the Macedonia match. The association's chief executive, Gordon Smith, revealed that a projected visit from Belgium in May had to be scrapped, but he is confident that fixtures will be finalised, preferably both at home.

Before his first match against Croatia, Burley will be confronted with the difficulty familiar to all his predecessors:
how to keep club managers sweet while plundering their best players at a crucial and very busy time of the season. The Old Firm teams, who supply many of the players, have unusually crowded schedules over the next two months.

Burley will solve a potentially damaging problem by compromise, possibly by using players from clubs involved in the decisive stages of competitions for only half the match. Like his two immediate predecessors, Walter Smith and Alex McLeish, he believes that, in Britain, strict application of Fifa regulations is impractical.

"It is an international week and we'll want a full squad," said Burley. "But I'll be speaking to the managers concerned and taking account of the situation. I know that, if a player can't play for his country in a midweek, we have the power to prevent him playing for his club the following weekend. But I do think that's impractical."

Taken from the Scotsman