Anthony Brown: Levein should attack Brazil

There's plenty wind in Scotland's sails at the moment and you would expect the players to be straining at the leash ahead of a rare meeting with the mighty Brazil in London on Sunday.

But I'll bet this fixture has given Craig Levein a good few sleepless nights of late as he agonises over how to play it at the Emirates. As a manager, his instinct has generally been to adopt a safety-first attitude and, apart from the 4-6-0 night in Prague, a pragmatic approach has generally served him well. But all of a sudden he has found himself laden with a host of exciting attacking options, which didn't appear to be available to him as recently as September and October when we were stuttering against Liechtenstein and futile against the Czechs. Okay we've only beaten the Faroes and Northern Ireland since then, but it was the manner of those wins and the fact they were achieved by a vibrant group of players who looked brave and confident in possession that has sparked a degree of optimism. For all that the gallant Euro 2008 qualifying campaign under Walter Smith and Alex McLeish was memorable, it was more down to hard graft, resilience and no shortage of luck that we almost got out of the Group of Death. We were almost solely reliant on James McFadden for inspiration.

We may still only have Kenny Miller as an established international-class central striker, but all of a sudden we have an abundance of dangerous wide men and quality ball-playing central midfielders. The emergence of Kris Commons, Robert Snodgrass, Steven Naismith, James Morrison, James McArthur, Graham Dorrans, Barry Bannan and Charlie Adam over the past year or two has given the team a much fresher look and, with those guys in the squad, we must feel that we can take the game to teams and make them worry about us for a change instead of simply parking the bus and trying to nick something.

But the question is can we open up against Brazil? They might not be the force they once were but they're probably still capable of taking a good few goals off Scotland if we tried to attack and then subsequently gave away cheap possession. That possibility will be gnawing away at Levein as he ponders how to line up. Most onlookers will say it's only a friendly so throw off the shackles and try and make the game a spectacle. But if it backfires and, say we were to lose 4-0 or 5-0, confidence would be eroded and Levein may again find his coat on a shoogly peg. In Scotland, we have an often intolerant and short-sighted media and, despite the last couple of victories, you still get the impression many people haven't forgiven the manager for Liechtenstein and 4-6-0.

Maligned split is not half bad for drama

The SPL split has always had its fair of share of critics but, to me, it adds much-needed drama to our league.

Firstly, there's the race to get into the top six which always hots up about now. It gives teams like Inverness, Motherwell and St Johnstone something to play for at a stage when their campaigns would otherwise be petering out. Then, after the split, there are usually plenty of twists and turns in the title race as Rangers and Celtic are prone to dropping points when they meet the league's stronger sides back-to-back.

Equally, the bottom teams will feel they have a better chance of winning matches and the fact Hamilton are up against the supposed weaker five teams in the league will allow them a glimmer of hope of pulling off the Great Escape.

Fixture anomalies are not ideal, but some years the imbalance will go for you and others it will go against you.

In the grand scheme of things it's hardly a big deal. Imagine how boring the remainder of this season would be if we didn't have the split.

Most sides outwith the title-chasing Old Firm would effectively be off on their holidays already.

Hats off to . .

JOHN McGLYNN. The Musselburgh man has done an incredible job since leaving Hearts to take over at Raith Rovers four-and-a-half years ago and the Kirkcaldy side, who were only promoted from the Second Division in 2009, remain in prime position for a long-awaited return to the SPL.

McGlynn's men have had a few ropey results of late but still look the more sure-footed in what is shaping up as a two-way race to the line with Fife rivals Dunfermline.

If they pull it off, McGlynn would be a strong contender for manager of the year.

Not a fan of

MARIO BALOTELLI. The big-headed Manchester City striker landed his team in it with his stupid lunge against Dinamo Kiev on Thursday and ultimately his dismissal probably prevented them overturning a two-goal deficit.

From the moment Roberto Mancini brought him over from Inter Milan, the arrogant Italian always looked like he was going to be a liability for City and so far he's been more hassle than he's worth.

He's certainly got a bit of quality, but the 20-year-old has done little to justify his claim that he considers himself among the best players in the world. Another media grilling after a heavy defeat is the last thing he needs as he continues his impressive overhaul of the squad.

The alternative is packing the team with defensive-minded players and trying to sneak a result. You could string five grafters across the middle of the park and leave Miller ploughing his familiar lone furrow in attack, but even if it resulted in a hardfought 1-0 defeat, it would be a massive turn-off for the tens of thousands of Scotland fans who will head south. On balance I feel there's got to be a bit value in going for a more adventurous line-up.

I don't envy Levein's decision, but I'd be tempted to go 4-3-2-1 with the following team: McGregor or Gordon; Hutton, Caldwell, Berra, Bardsley; Adam, McArthur, Bannan; Snodgrass, Commons; Miller.