Gary tipping Deek to come in from Cald

EDINBURGH has unearthed a new generation of Scotland recruits recently, Steven Fletcher accompanying Christophe Berra and Michael Stewart on the SFA charter flight which landed in Reykjavik this morning.

Former Hibs defender Gary Caldwell believes another Capital product will soon join them, provided he overcomes the frustration of watching his club and international career stall on take-off.

Derek Riordan winner of one full Scotland cap to date, has the credentials to re-establish himself within the national squad alongside club-mate Fletcher and city rivals Berra and Stewart. His task, according to Caldwell, is to reinvent himself at Easter Road after a dispiriting time with Celtic, before taking up where he left off at international level.

Riordan's solitary appearance in dark blue came in the Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium in Graz, Austria, in 2005. At the time, the likes of Steven Pressley, Craig Gordon, Paul Hartley, Garry O'Connor and Caldwell himself regularly represented Edinburgh in Scotland squads. However, a new clutch of inductees have emerged, and Caldwell knows Riordan should be among them.

The Celtic defender shared dressing rooms with the controversial striker at both ends of the M8 and wouldn't doubt his potential. Application became an issue at Parkhead but Caldwell feels Riordan's recent return to Hibs could be the catalyst for the resumption of his international career, allowing the east-coast influence on George Burley's squad to swell further.

"Deek is a really talented player. He came to Celtic and it didn't work out for him. He's back at Hibs now and hopefully he works hard and gets back to the form that got him into Scotland squads previously. He's a great talent that this country needs," explained Caldwell ahead of tomorrow's World Cup qualifier with Iceland.

"It's up to him now, he has to work hard. He's been given a chance with Hibs again and he must prove he wants it. He'll perform at the highest level if he does that. He's had a knock back but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and I hope Deeks is a stronger player for it. He'll come back even better and that would be great news for Scotland."

Fletcher, a team-mate of Caldwell's at Hibs, earned promotion to the full squad following an impressive under-21 performance last week. His presence may compensate somewhat for the possible absence of Kenny Miller against Iceland through injury. "Steven has been here before, he's flitted back and forth to the under-21s but he had a great game on Thursday night and deserves to be here," said Caldwell. "He'll bring a bit more attacking power because he can score goals."

While Scotland were undergoing a startling examination of their World Cup credentials in Skopje, Iceland were recording a favourable draw in Oslo against Norway. Caldwell admits to being irked by the criticism which followed defeat in Macedonia but pledged to remain resolute along with his international colleagues.

Tomorrow's game, if not of the must-win variety, is certainly must-not-lose for Burley. Caldwell continued: "We are probably favourites but we know how difficult it's going to be. We go into a lot of games thinking we are better man-for-man. However, international football is never easy now and away from home it's even more difficult to win games.

"Drawing with Norway is a big result for Iceland and they'll have confidence from that going into this home game. We're going to have to play well to take anything. We've watched the goals and bits from that game and we had a talk about them, so we know everything about them man-for-man.

"Our approach is the key. If we go in with the right attitude and give the right performance, we can win the game. Our whole team has a lot of experience now. Lads like Fletch (Darren Fletcher], Faddy and Kenny all played under Berti Vogts and got the harsh learning experience of international football. They are now better, more rounded players for it. We understand the ups and down and we go into these games with a bit of experience.

"You must stay strong and keep believing in yourself and your team-mates. We all believe we can still qualify. You don't become a bad team overnight, or a bad player. There will be ups and downs in form and performance but you have to keep believing that we're going to get it right, and I'm sure we will."

Much depends on how Caldwell and his club colleague, Steven McManus, combat the threat of Barcelona's Eidur Gudjohnsen in Reykjavik's Laugardalsvöllur Stadium. Undoubtedly the talisman of Icelandic football, Gudjohnsen's willingness to roam freely around defenders makes marking him an onerous task. Caldwell gained an insight into the striker's mobility last season during Celtic's Champions League encounters with Barcelona.

"I remember him coming on for Barcelona and, because he plays in an area just off the front, it can be difficult for centre-halves. He sits in that hole and it can be awkward. You try to squeeze up and not give him any space to play because the more room he has the better he is at passing and bringing others into the game.

"We can't go and mark him if he plays in the hole but he have to deny him space. You can't just go rushing out and pick him up because that leaves a gap. You try to squeeze the game without properly marking him, it's a difficult thing to do. They have other players but I think he is the one player we really have to keep an eye on, and there's (Heidar] Helguson as well. Iceland are a team and we must be aware of all their players but Gudjohnsen is the one. If you stop him playing, you stop Iceland playing." Scotland managed a convincing 2-0 victory on their last visit to Reykjavik in 2002. Indeed, they have never lost a match of any nature against Iceland. "I think that's a good thing. If you get good results against teams it tends to stay that way," said Caldwell, a peripheral member of Vogts' squad six years ago. "I was at that game under Berti. The boys who played that day will know we can get another win over there.

"When we get the first goal, we're very hard to beat. When we don't, we're not great at chasing a game. It's important to get into the game and not let anything slip early on. If we score first, I'm sure we'll be a different team. We scored early that day, Christian Dailly scored a header. Then later on we scored on the break, so it shows the first goal is a massive help."

Not many Scots would wish to repeat a Berti Vogts gameplan, but the unpopular German's approach against Iceland may be worth following tomorrow. "I'll take a 2-0 right now, yes," laughed Caldwell.