Source: FOOTYMAD
Players Are As Excited As An Excitable Person Who Has Something To Be Really Excited About
It is all very well thinking we have made progress but we have to test and stretch ourselves Craig Levein realises that the game against Brazil is a learning opportunity and will allow him to gauge the progress made by his Scotland squad. Scotland play Brazil at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday on the back of 3-0 wins over both the Faroe Islands and Northern Ireland, and with the knowledge that they ran world champions Spain close in their 3-2 Euro 2012 qualifying defeat at Hampden last October. The South Americans, though, have not lost in nine meetings with Scotland and few expect Levein's side to make a dent in that statistic in London. The Brazilians are heading into the game on the back of two defeats; against France and Argentina. They are determined to end this poor run against Scotland and Levein believes the risk of undoing recent good work is worth taking. He said: "You can't run away from it. You have to stretch yourself at times and see where you are and that's what this game is for, to see where we actually are. We played Spain last October and put on a fantastic show and arguably Brazil are of that standard. So it is another test for us. It is a fairly daunting task. I think we have played them nine times and haven't managed to get a victory yet so there is a challenge for us. I am looking for our guys to get confidence out of the game. It sounds a bit silly when playing the best team in the world but there is so many things that can happen in a football match that you can take confidence from. If you take on the best teams in the world you have to be in a good place mentally to do that and the players are in that place just now. The encouraging thing for me is that they are all playing very well for their clubs so their confidence is high. And I think we have found the system that suits the players we have got. That is important because as an international manager it sometimes takes a while to discover exactly which system is best for the players. We are not going to change that and worry too much about being overly-defensive. I think we are in a better place now than we were eight or nine months ago so we will have a go and see what we can do." After a week of bonding in La Manga, the Scotland manager knows his players are excited about the prospect of playing the greatest football nation on earth. He also believes those who have had to call off with injury or illness will "regret" their absence. Peterborough striker Craig Mackail-Smith has been drafted into Levein's squad as the withdrawal of Steven Naismith left him short of forward options. Darren Fletcher, Jamie Mackie and Graham Dorrans were not fit enough to be included in the original squad while Phil Bardsley pulled out with a knee injury earlier in the week as did Iain Turner, who was replaced by Kilmarnock goalkeeper Cammy Bell. Levein said: "Yes, of course the players are excited. We had an excellent training session yesterday and it is amazing how playing a team like Brazil sharpens the players minds and gets them focused. I'm sure the guys who are missing out will regret the fact that they are not here. Some of our important players are missing. Darren Fletcher is ill just now, Steven Naismith out with a hamstring problem, Jamie Mackie unfortunately broke his leg and Graham Dorrans is out, as are a few others. But I'm sure the lads who come in will be desperate to show what they can do." In the absence of regular captain Fletcher, Levein will announce his replacement in due course. He said: "I haven't made that decision yet. It will probably be between Kenny Miller and Gary Caldwell but as yet I haven't decided."
