Stark hopes of Scots U21s pulling off a double Dutch

HOLLAND’S under-21s won’t be quaking at the prospect of suffering a second successive defeat to Scotland, national coach Billy Stark admits. Wednesday’s tea-time qualifier between the two nations at St Mirren Park will be seen by the Dutch, powerhouses at under-21 level, as the opportunity to get back on track after the “blip” of an outstanding 2-1 win for Stark’s side in Nijmegen in November.

“We are lucky with Mark Wotte [SFA technical director here], he talked to their side when they had us watched and they genuinely felt we weren’t bad, but not that we would go there and win,” Stark says. “So we have lost the element of surprise.

“Playing here won’t be too different. They will feel that they have the better players who can impose their style on us.”

If he is looking for an answer to this, he could consider capping Michael O’Halloran. The Bolton forward, who comes from Moodiesburn in Glasgow, was once on the books of Celtic, where his father, Michael senior, is a coach. The 21-year-old has made appearances in the FA Cup and League Cup for the Lancashire side and made the bench for Premier League encounters.

“He has a fair bit to learn in terms of how to maximise his abilities, but he is quick and he wants to run through and we don’t have many of that type,” Stark says. “He has warranted inclusion. He played against Danny Wilson and scored in a reserve game at Liverpool before the turn of the year. He has something different. I would like to see him use his pace more than he does. A lot of them want to come into the middle of the park and show they’re a great player by doing their wee bit but he is a natural runner in behind.”

In a 4-2-3-1, David Wotherspoon is likely to be flanked by Gary Mackay-Steven and Johnny Russell in the three with Jordan Rhodes in front of them. And Wotherspoon, who has struggled at Hibernian recently, proved a key component in the Dutch win. His pressurising of the centre-backs was a key ploy. “In terms of the tactical plan over there he was arguably our most important player. He scored the goal, had another great effort and was involved in a few things. The great thing about him is his intelligence. He played wide right against Celtic but I don’t think that’s a great position for him. In saying that, if you have him you know he will have a great mentality to playing anywhere and you will get a reasonable performance”.

More than reasonable performances will be required for the Scots to complete a famous double.