The Kirk of faith: Broadfoot still believes in his ability and also in the methods of Levein

Published on Thursday 2 September 2010 17:50

Limitations live longest in the mind. It was former Scotland manager George Burley who labelled Kirk Broadfoot a man of limited ability, even as his own managerial strictures were being woefully exposed.

But times have changed and as Scotland dive even deeper into their 2012 European Championships qualifiers, the Rangers defender says the presence of Craig Levein at the helm will allow the country to replace circumspection with new-found expectation.

From a man who combats talent constraints with tactical nous rather than insensitive utterances and tries to switch the focus on to the potential of the unit rather than the deficiencies of individuals, it is a formula that has garnered reward from the players on the pitch and favour within the dressing room, particularly with the previously besmirched full-back.

"Those comments annoyed me at the time but it's a long time ago now," said the man who made good on his boyhood dream of scoring the winner for his country, when he netted against Iceland in 2008. "I have been through this so many times and I don't even think he meant it in a bad way but as everyone knows he wasn't a good speaker, if I'm being honest. He didn't know how to come across to the press and I don't think that helped him in the long term but as I said that's in the past and I'm looking forward to the future now.

"I always go out to play for myself and my country. I give 100 per cent, that's the kind of guy I am, but the difference this time is that it's more professional the way the gaffer goes about things. His training I'm enjoying. He is a nice guy but commands respect and the other players all feel the same."

Under Levein, many have returned to the fold. Although Broadfoot did not start in the opening 0-0 draw away at Lithuania, the former Hibs and St Mirren defender is hopeful of recapturing a role he has played three times already for his country as the campaign unfurls further.

Willing to bide his time, he claims the current national boss is the recipient of the kind of deference he usually associates with his club manager, Walter Smith. "I think there are a lot of similarities, he is the type of man that when he walks in a room there is an aura about him and people just be quiet and wait until he speaks. You wait until he speaks to you before you speak to him, that's the level of respect he has and that is like the gaffer at Rangers."

Which is just one reason for the rising levels of belief within the squad as they seek to catapult Scotland into a major championships for the first time since the 1998 World Cup.

"Yeah, I am optimistic.I think we have a good squad here, some really good players who are well known and who, on their day, can beat the best of teams and I think we have a manager who is well-organised and who can get his players up to play for him. This was the first time I had worked with him and I have really enjoyed it and was really surprised at how good he was, to be honest. I knew he was good but I didn't think he was that good. Working with the likes of Walter Smith, you don't think it can get much better than that but as I said there are similarities and he has to be one of the best managers around."

It was under Smith that Scotland found a decent footing again following the Berti Vogts era, leading the country to victory in three of the four opening qualifiers for the 2008 European Championships before he departed the national scene. The opening two matches that time also consisted of a match away to Lithuanian and a head-to-head with the group minnows. Back then it was the Faroe Islands who were battered 6-0, on Tuesday the class of 2010 take on Liechtenstein, hoping for three points and the bonus of an equally emphatic scoreline.

"To be honest I don't know anything about (Liechtenstein] yet but that's where the manager and the coaching staff are really good," said Broadfoot. "Even when we played Sweden in the last game we watched a few videos and were told about their strengths and weaknesses but at the end of the day, you can watch as many videos but if they have (Zlatan] Ibrahimovich up front, what can you do to try to stop him? But it will be a wee bit different this time and I'm sure we will be well organised and ready and know all about their strengths and weaknesses and all about their best players."

Even without that information, he is sure patience will be a major factor. An Old Firm player he knows what it is like to go into matches expected to win, having to cultivate openings and find a way through well-organised and packed defences. "I think that most of the guys have either played with the Old Firm or are currently playing with them and I think they know what that's like. Boys like Darren Fletcher, they get even more of that at Man United where they are expected to beat teams like Barcelona, so I think we are all used to having that mentality and it's no different when you come away with your national team.

"We can't really moan if they get more men behind the ball because we do it in games ourselves in Europe, so it's just a case of having to deal with it and hopefully we are patient enough and the fans don't get too frustrated and we can eventually break them down and win the game. We have to be big enough and strong enough to blank everything out and stick to the tactics the manager wants and I'm sure it will come and in the end and we will get the goals that we need."

Understanding one's own limitations is one thing, but these days the focus has switched to exploiting those of the opposition.