WORLD CUP QUALIFYING GROUP NINE:SCOTLAND MANAGER George Burley has made the World Cup qualifier against Iceland at Hampden Park on Wednesday his side's top priority, admitting that anything gained from the trip to Amsterdam to face the Netherlands on Saturday would be a bonus.

Burley said: “The Netherlands is not a “free” game but there is no doubt Wednesday’s game is more important for the points. We need to win that game. If we could get a point in the Netherlands, it would be a terrific result.”

The Dutch were already overwhelming favourites to defeat Scotland in the Group Nine game before the raft of injuries which have hindered Burley’s plans.

Paul Hartley has become the fourth player to withdraw from the squad, while severe doubts remain over the readiness of Stephen McManus to play in the Amsterdam Arena and Burley confirmed he will not gamble on the fitness of Alan Hutton.

The Tottenham full-back could, though, play his first competitive match since November against Iceland.

“I am not looking to get Alan involved in Amsterdam but have an open view to Wednesday,” said Burley. “A fit, motivated Alan Hutton would get in most international sides. We will analyse his fitness levels to see if he is able to step in on Wednesday.”

If Hartley, Kris Commons, David Weir or Kirk Broadfoot improves, then they, too, will rejoin the Scotland group at the start of the week. For the present the manager has adopted a sanguine attitude to squad disruption.

“I think you become immune to it,” Burley said. “There is no good worrying about it or being negative about it. We will take 23 players to Amsterdam and take it from there. You can’t change luck, you just hope it goes with you. I’m looking at how things will go with the players I have got; that is the only way I can look at it.”

Burley surprised many onlookers by volunteering yesterday that Allan McGregor, and not Craig Gordon, will keep goal against the Dutch. Gordon has recently been unable to dislodge Martin Fulop at Sunderland but, with 35 caps, has long been established as his country’s number one. That situation has changed, at least for now, on the basis that the three-times-capped McGregor is playing weekly for Rangers.

“It was simply a decision made on the basis that Craig has not played, nothing else,” Burley explained. “I think there has been so much speculation, it was fairer to the two of them [to announce it early]. Now Allan can focus without people speculating over the rights and wrongs.

“It could have been an unnecessary distraction but there is nothing else to talk about now. The decision is made and we move on. Last season Allan was magnificent, I can’t remember him making a mistake in all the games I watched. And he has again been in outstanding form of late.”

A rare display of anger emanated from Burley when it was implied to him that, unlike McGregor, the Scotland captain Barry Ferguson’s form for Rangers has been somewhat below an acceptable standard.

“Barry Ferguson is an excellent player,” said the former Ipswich, Hearts and Southampton manager tersely. “There are a lot of comments made in the press that I don’t agree with. I will form my own opinion, which is that Barry is outstanding and has been for Scotland for years. People have short memories. I am picking the best players for Scotland and Barry Ferguson is certainly among them.”

Meanwhile, the Netherlands will go with current Ajax second-choice goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg after Manchester United’s Edwin van der Sar rejected a request to come out of international retirement for the Scotland game.

Scottish midfielder Darren Fletcher is thankful he will not face his United team-mate in Amsterdam for more than one reason. “He mentioned that he had been asked to go back,” Fletcher said. “He came back to help out recently but I think he had made his decision to retire.

“When you see his performances this season, that decision has been justified. He is helping his club career by doing that.

“I don’t know if the manager had a word in his ear because he was playing Scotland! But he made the decision and I like to think that’s good for Scotland.”

Guardian Service