AFTER Barry Ferguson, Allan McGregor, Lee McCulloch and Christian Dailly fled Cameron House on Sunday night, Kris Boyd could be left feeling guilty by association as the Scotland squad's lone Ranger.
The Ibrox quartet and Celtic's Barry Robson were amongst a seven-strong party who submitted sick notes to George Burley, thereby throwing the new national team coach's plans for this evening's friendly with Croatia into disarray. Anyone would think
there's an Old Firm game on the horizon.
English-based James McFadden and Stephen Pearson were the other call-offs, although the substantial withdrawal of Rangers players, whilst hardly new, will irk many of the Tartan Army. Boyd remains in place, however, to embark on a personal crusade aimed at restoring his international fortunes.
Of the five Ibrox charges enlisted by Burley, he is the least likely to start against Celtic this weekend as his quest to cement a place in Walter Smith's side continues. At international level, he finds himself embroiled in a similar battle.
His potency, of course, cannot be questioned. He has bulged domestic nets 23 times this season and boasts seven goals from 13 international caps, a goals-to-games ratio better than any available to Burley. Yet starting slots are becoming more sparse than, well, Rangers players appearing in a friendly for Scotland. "If I do get the chance to play then hopefully I can show the new manager I am good enough to start games," said Boyd.
"Obviously, a start would be good for me. I would get a few more minutes under my belt and I could try to add to my goalscoring tally.
"There are a lot of options up front for the new manager. In the past, that perhaps wasn't the case.
"All the strikers in the squad, too, have scored goals at international level as well. We believe we are good enough to be there. But only one or two can start the games.
"Whoever gets the chance to start will have to show they are good enough. I go into every game looking to score. In some games it doesn't happen. But I know if I get into positions against Croatia we have good enough players in the Scotland team to create chances for me. All I can do is try to get into scoring positions.
"This game will be difficult for us with the number of call-offs we have had this week. But nobody is going to make any excuses.
"At the end of the day it is 11 against 11. We need to give it our best shot.
"I think with the call-offs there will be players coming in who will be hungry to play and who will want to show they are good enough to play for their country. Having said that, the manager doesn't have a full squad to choose from. The preparation could have been better."
Try telling that to Ferguson and Co. Dailly's exemption must be considered permissible due to his cracked toe, but many Scotland supporters will now take a vested interest in team news emerging from Ibrox on Saturday morning to see how many withdrawals make a miraculous recovery.
His CIS Cup final exploits still a welcomely fresh memory, Boyd returns to Hampden tonight looking to keep up the momentum. And there is always a slightly more parochial agenda to look after.
"I haven't played as much as I would have liked this season.
"If I do get a start on tonight and get some more minutes under my belt then it could do my chances of playing in the Old Firm game at the weekend some good," he said. "To get my first medal was the most important thing for me. To come off the bench and do what I did, get the goals which helped the team along to the victory, was tremendous.
"We made hard work of it, but we got there in the end.
"This week has been different from what I am used to. It's been short and sharp but really enjoyable.
"The strikers worked on their finishing while the defenders worked on their thing. Then we all came together. There have been a lot of changes in the national set-up since the last campaign. We're looking forward to the game and hopefully we can get a result which would set us up nicely for World Cup qualifying."
Watching Glasgow come alive on Euro 2008 qualifying days was indeed a joy to behold for anyone with a passion for the national team. Boyd is pleased to report that the dejection from ultimately failing to make Austria and Switzerland has now subsided, although the feel-good factor still reverberates across the country.
"The whole nation is back behind the team after our last qualifying campaign, but we need to push on from here and keep showing we are good enough to keep challenging the best football nations in Europe and, if we get to the World Cup, the world.
"It isn't going to be an easy task, but if we go about it the way we did our last campaign then we have got a chance.
"Croatia are a good, good team. I think most people saw what they did to England in their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. Okay, England were struggling at the time, but Croatia deserve credit for getting to the finals. I am sure they will be a threat in the summer.
"I spoke to Dado (Prso] for quite a long time on Friday, but we didn't talk much about the game tonight. It was just general chit-chat. He is a gem of a guy. He's enjoying retirement, but he did say he would rather be playing. Unfortunately, there comes a time when your body just packs in. He was more interested in how Rangers have been getting on than Croatia. He still speaks to quite a few of the boys on a regular basis."
Prso would have noted Smith's tendency to use Boyd sparingly during an arduous campaign both at home and abroad. "It hasn't made much difference to my confidence or self-belief.
"I am confident going into most games that I can score. That will never change," contends the striker. "If I lose that I will be struggling. I just need to focus on what is good for me."
Boyd obviously deemed it best to remain on the banks of Loch Lomond this week and prioritise Scotland over Rangers. Pity the same couldn't be said for others in the Ibrox dressing-room.
A proud nation's footballing heritageTHE Croatian national team has been in existence since 1990 and was recognised by FIFA and UEFA in the summer of 1992, one year after Croatia's independence from Yugoslavia.
They have qualified for every major tournament since – with the exception of the 2000 European Championships.
The team played their first competitive matches in the qualifying campaign for Euro 1996 and reached the finals, losing out to eventual winners Germany 2-1 in the quarter-finals.
Some measure of revenge against the Germans was gained at the 1998 World Cup when they beat them 3-0 and the men from the Balkans finished third with Davor Suker, pictured right, top scorer in the tournament with six goals. The Croats head for Euro 2008 this summer at the expense of England which, if nothing else, will probably guarantee Slaven Billic's side a warm welcome at Hampden! Croatia are currently ranked 12th in the FIFA World rankings, two places ahead of Scotland and tonight's match will help them prepare for their Euro 2008 Group B clashes with co-hosts Austria, Poland and Germany.
Previous clashesCroatia 1 - 1 Scotland October 11, 2000SCOTLAND gained a fine 1-1 draw in Zagreb to raise hopes they could qualify for the World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea.
Alen Boksic had given the hosts an early lead in the tie after only 15 minutes but Kevin Gallacher's first international goal for three years soon afterwards ensured a share of the spoils for Scotland.
Croatia: Pavlovic, Dario Simic, Stimac, Robert Kovac, Saric, Soldo (Biscan 46) Jarni (Zivkovic 46) Prosinecki, Nico Kovac, Balaban, Boksic (Vugrinec 75).
Subs not used: Pletikosa, Tudor, Igor Cvitanovic, Jurcic
Scotland: Sullivan, Weir, Elliott, Hendry, Boyd, Burley, Cameron, Hutchison, Naysmith, Gallacher, Johnston (Dickov 46) (Holt 89).
Subs not used: Gould, Ritchie ,O'Neil, Pressley, Burchill
Scotland 0 - 0 Croatia
September 1, 2001SCOTLAND'S hopes of qualifying for the 2002 World Cup were dealt a hammer blow at Hampden. Billy Dodds had thought he had given his side a precious victory only for his strike six minutes from the end to be ruled out for offside.
Scotland travelled to Belgium needing a win but lost 2-0 in Brussels.
Scotland: Sullivan, Weir, Elliott, Dailly, Naysmith (Gemmill 85) Lambert, Burley, Hutchison, Booth (Dodds 73), McCann (Cameron 52) Matteo.
Subs not used: Nicholson, McNamara, Crawford, Gallacher.
Croatia: Pletikosa, Tomas (Biscan 83) Jarni, Soldo, Stimac, Tudor, Robert Kovac, Prosinecki (Vugrinec 78) Stanic (Suker 72) Zivkovic, Balaban .
Subs not used: Dario Simic, Nico Kovac, Vlaovic, Butina.
Focus on Croatia's key menDario Simic THE defender, nicknamed "the pitbull", is Croatia's all-time record appearance holder having played for his country 96 times. Currently on the books of AC Milan, he recently signed a new deal with the Serie A side to keep him there until 2009. Although 32 he remains a mainstay of the Croatian side and is widely regarded as the best defender his country has produced.
Ivan KlasnicTHE Werder Bremen forward turned down an offer to play for Germany to instead pledge his allegiance to Croatia, the country from where his parents hail. Last year, Klasnic underwent kidney transplant surgery twice when his body rejected the first attempt. Now fully recovered, the 28-year-old represents one of his country's biggest attacking threats.
The full article contains 1656 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
