STEVEN PRESSLEY today issued a "come and join us" invitation, insisting the door was always open for any Scottish player to join George Burley's national squad.
And the former Hearts skipper, now part of Burley's Scotland set-up, cited the return of ex-Tynecastle team-mate Jamie McAllister and the inclusion of 30-year-old striker Chris Iwelumo as proof there was no closed shop.
Bristol City star McAllist
er, who won his one and only cap four years ago, and Wolves striker Iwelumo, yet to pull on an international jersey, were surprise call-ups when Burley named his squad for tomorrow's crucial World Cup clash with Norway, one Pressley admitted is "a must-win" for the Scots.
But Pressley today insisted their inclusion should act as an inspiration for all. He said: "The door is always open for players playing at a high standard.
"Players develop at different stages in their careers, some relatively young, some a bit longer like Paul Hartley and myself.
"Jamie and Chris have put it all together at the age of 30. Jamie's been in England over the past two-and-a-half years and performed exceptionally well while Chris has scored eight goals in seven starts this season.
"If you are performing well on a regular basis there is always a great opportunity and what a time to be involved, with the potential to reach the World Cup."
To that end, Pressley echoed Burley's words in agreeing tomorrow's match falls into the "must-win" category for Scotland, the game their first at Hampden in the qualifying campaign following a mixed start with a defeat in Macedonia followed by a victory in Iceland. He said: "If we have aspirations to be in South Africa in two years' time, we really do need to win our home games.
"This is the first opportunity for us to do so but we'll be going into the game in a positive manner after the result in Iceland.
"I know from my own international career, in which I played against Norway twice, that they'll play a very British style of game. They'll have two quite physical front players and they'll put us under pressure by getting the ball into the box and making us defend.
"We have to be prepared for that, nullify the service to those two, be competitive and resilient in our defending. If we do that and play to our own strengths then there is no doubt in my mind we will win the game."
Scotland, of course, go into the game handicapped by the loss of captain Stephen McManus following his red card in Reykjavik – Manchester United's Darren Fletcher will take the armband tomorrow – and striker Kenny Miller.
But Pressley insisted Scotland can overcome those blows, pointing out how veteran defender Davie Weir will step in for the Celtic skipper, while the likes of Hibs' Steven Fletcher was among those, Iwelumo included, desperate to start up front.
He said: "Davie has been a terrific servant to Scotland. I haven't seen a lot of him myself this season but George says he is playing at a very high level again.
"Having Kenny missing is very disappointing, he has been the main striker for a number of years. But him missing will give others an opportunity.
"We watched Steven for the under-21s against Slovakia when he performed exceptionally well. He's looked really sharp in training and, while George will make the decision as to who will play, there is no doubt Steven is in his thinking."
Tomorrow will give Scotland a rare opportunity to concentrate on just one international match rather than a double-header, a situation Pressley believes they can take advantage of, particularly with the backing of the Tartan Army.
He said: "A sell-out at Hampden is always a special occasion and the atmosphere the fans created has been reflected in performances and results over many years.
"We have a strong home record in competitive matches and there's no doubt that's partially down to the atmosphere generated by the support."
Pressley believes the players out on the pitch at Hampden detect an intensity of support which always isn't there for friendly matches, likening the impact it has on the team to Celtic's home matches in the Champions League.
Like Celtic in Europe, Scotland's away form hasn't been the greatest although, like Hoops boss Gordon Strachan, it's a record Burley and his management team are trying to improve, the 2-1 win in Iceland thus proving particularly satisfying.
Pressley said: "There's an intensity in the atmosphere, very similar to that when Celtic play at home in the Champions League, which has a significant impact on the players' performance.
"We are trying to improve our away record so it was very pleasing for us that we came away with a win from Iceland. Another positive aspect was that our second performance in a double header has always been more disappointing.
"We've been working hard to ensure the players are in best shape they can be both physically and mentally so I think our medical team deserve a lot of credit. It's very much a team performance, not just the players but the coaching team and the medical staff."
However, Pressley also believes Burley himself deserves great credit for taking the welter of negative headlines directed at him following the disappointment of defeat by Macedonia in his stride, the former Hearts boss showing not even a flicker of letting it get to him.
He said: "George is a very positive man to be about and that was one of the attractions to me of working with him. I detest negativity, it's a mindset in this country which we need to change. George is always positive, even in defeat, even after Macedonia.
"There was a lot of negativity surrounding the squad but he didn't talk to the players or the staff about it, he remained positive."
The full article contains 997 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
