Craig Levein's backing all-important for Charlie Adam

Published on Wednesday 1 September 2010 20:47

Charlie Adam has recently ascended into the Barclays Premier League elite but he felt no different when joining up with his Scotland team-mates ahead of the Euro 2012 opener against Lithuania.

The Blackpool midfielder has been involved in both of Craig Levein's matches in charge of Scotland so far and that backing is all Adam needs to feel confident enough to step out on the pitch for his country.

Adam is sure he will improve with experience of playing in the English top flight but his confidence was evident last season when he netted 19 goals for Blackpool on their way to play-off success.

The former Rangers midfielder, often the target of criticism from Ibrox fans during his spell in Glasgow, was acclaimed as the best player in the npower Championship last season by many observers. And he will take that self-belief into the opening qualifier in Kaunas tomorrow night, which is quickly followed by a Hampden clash against Liechtenstein on Tuesday.

Adam said: "I've learned a lot from the Premier League already - we have won 4-0, got beat 6-0 and drawn 2-2. It's a good league and there are loads of quality players so I'm enjoying it and looking forward to the challenge.

"But do I feel any more confident coming into this squad? No. I came in because the manager selected me as part of a group of players he feels are capable of going to Lithuania and getting three points. That's the main thing."

When asked if his form gave him a good chance of getting into the team, Adam said: "It's an honour to be here, you can only play well for your club. Hopefully playing well for my club will help but it's all about the team."

Adam impressed with his range of passing after coming off the bench during Levein's opening match, a 1-0 friendly victory over the Czech Republic at Hampden in March.

But he was slow to respond to a forward run by Emir Bajrami as the Sweden midfielder netted at the second attempt during a 3-0 defeat in Stockholm last month.

"The preparation has been the same but the important thing for us is that we learn from the mistakes we made in Sweden," Adam said. "It was a friendly but it's important to get it out of our system. We did well against the Czech Republic at home but the Sweden game gave us reminder of what we need when it matters in the Euros."