Bonhof warns youngsters not to underestimate Moldovans

Published on Tuesday 12 October 2004 00:55

SCOTLAND Under-21 coach Rainer Bonhof has warned his players that Moldova are no longer the international pushovers they once were.

The young Scots have so far failed to realise their potential in the European Championship qualification campaign, having taken just one point from two home matches. A goalless draw against ten-man Slovenia was followed by a 2-0 defeat by Norway last week. That result leaves the Scots at the foot of Group 5 and means that the fixture against Moldova at the tiny Dinamo Stadium at lunchtime today is a must-win game.

Though Moldovan teams have made little impact in any international competition since gaining independence in the 1990s,

Bonhof points out that many of the under-21 squad play abroad in the Netherlands, Austria, Russia and Ukraine and that they have already won 3-2 in Belarus.

"I have seen two tapes of them; a friendly they played against Austria and the defeat at home to Italy," said Bonhof. "They only lost that one 1-0 so we cannot expect it to be easy. They have a lot of players playing in foreign countries.

"We can’t say we are just playing against a wee country."

Senior squad manager Berti Vogts has hired a German chef to make sure his players’ preparations are not hampered by any culinary limitations in Moldova, and Bonhof added: "We have to make sure the players’ bodies remain healthy. The food is okay. We had a chat with the Italian side and they said it was not a problem."

In any case, the former Germany international had first-hand knowledge of life in the former Soviet Republic. He said: "I played in Moldova with the ‘A’ squad of Germany and I was in the mid-90s in Moldova as well. Things should be changed over there now because these countries are developing very quickly."

The Scots will be missing a number of key players through injury, but Bonhof said that will be no excuse. "The boys who come in should be growing in a situation like this," he said.

Bonhof hinted that he will make the player with the most caps team captain today, which means, if he makes the starting line-up, that Ross County’s Jamie McCunnie will wear the armband.