Source: Daily_Mail
My plans for Faddy: Burley to reshape Scotland around talisman McFadden
Potent threat: Scotland's James McFaddenGeorge Burley is ready to reshape his Scotland side in a bid to unleash the full attacking potential of James McFadden. The national team boss yesterday revealed he intends to experiment with a new-look forward system against Wales on Saturday, with the sole aim of maximising the impact of the country's most potent creative threat. The 26-year-old Birmingham City star has scored 15 goals in 44 international appearances since breaking into the side seven years ago. And the quality of his strikes, from the Paris piledriver to a mazy solo effort against Macedonia, has earned him living legend status among the Tartan Army. Now Burley, who has used McFadden wide in a 4-3-3, as a lone striker and even as a second-half substitute in Oslo, is optimistic a tweaking of tactics will enable Faddy to become Scotland's own weapon of mass destruction. He said: 'We want to get the best out of James McFadden. That's an area I might have a little tweak at. That's why you have these games, to look at these things. There is no doubt James has great ability and has done brilliantly for Scotland. But, with team structure, you need to look at things and that's what we'll do in Cardiff. 'Ask David Moyes, ask Alex McLeish, and they will tell you James can play in various roles. It's about what's best for the team, not an individual. Quality strike: McFadden has scored superb goals against France and Macedonia 'But James has that ability to do something unusual, something that can open the door for you, and he can also get a goal. For this game, we will be looking at something different to the areas where I've played him. Let's see how it works. 'Yes, I do have a plan, I have my thoughts about going into this game slightly differently. This is an ideal time to do that. 'Every match is different but you want systems up your sleeve that you know will work. Your whole team has to be right but we're trying to give us forward play that causes problems.' Tweaking tactics: Scotland manager George BurleyMeanwhile, Kevin Thomson has been forced to withdraw from the squad alongside injured Rangers team-mate Steven Whittaker, after failing to recover from a stomach bug, with Blackpool's Charlie Adam called in as replacement. 'Two or three of the Rangers players had this virus,' said Burley. 'He (Thomson) wasn't involved on Saturday and we thought we'd leave it a day so he could join up. 'But he had to withdraw and it's unfortunate. Kevin spoke to us before the Japan trip and he was gutted to miss that. 'We haven't had quite the same number of call-offs as the last time. But I still have four players missing who would have started: Craig Gordon, Scott Brown, Shaun Maloney and Steven Whittaker. 'However, that gives other people chances. Ross McCormack is one who has missed a lot of football. He has shown in World Cup games that he's potentially a goalscorer, so we've brought Ross in, even if he's not 100-per-cent fit. 'We have this game and maybe three more before the Euro qualifiers. They are opportunities to get into the squad.' Scots best defence! Gary Caldwell and Stephen McManus are tops, insists Terry ButcherBurley must patch up rift with Scotland back-up keeper MarshallMan in court after alleged attack on Celtic and Scotland star Scott Brown Explore more:People:Charlie Adam, Craig Gordon, Kevin Thomson, James McFadden, David Moyes, Alex McLeish, George BurleyPlaces:Paris, Cardiff, Wales, Macedonia, Japan, Scotland, France