1. MICHAELSTEWARTINTERNATIONAL EXTRA
ON THE NATIONAL MANAGER’S NEXT CHALLENGE
AUSTRALIAN pundits have
demanded Celtic starlet
Tom Rogic starts for them
after their side was
destroyed in Brazil.
The midfielder, below,
got the last 15 minutes
as the Socceroos were
thumped 6-0 by the World
Cup hosts in a
friendly.
F o r m e r
Aston Villa and
M a n c h e s t e r
United keeper
Mark Bosnich
said: “Why
did Rogic only
come on for the last 15
minutes when it was done
and dusted?
“Why not start him and
find out what he’s got?
“This is a warning to
us. There was absolutely
nothing to take out of the
performance. Nothing.”
MIKAEL LUSTIG makes his
second trip to Kazakhstan
in three weeks tomorrow
— with Celtic boss Neil
Lennon praying he doesn’t
aggravate a double injury.
The Hoops defender,
below, was carried off in
his last club
match against
Dundee United
with an ankle
problem.
Lustigplayed
for Sweden in
Ireland on Fri-
day night and
now makes an exhausting
trip to Astana to face
Kazakhstan — where
Celts lost to Karagandy.
But he said: “Against
Ireland my ankle felt okay
but I had to come off
because of a back injury.
“The ankle feels fine
but my back is stiff.”
RANGERS new boy Arnold
Peralta will play his first
match of the season when
he turns out for Honduras
in tomorrow’s World Cup
clash with Panama.
He missed the 2-1 win
in Mexico, but this time is
expected to get the nod at
right-back.
P e r a l t a ,
right, hasn’t
been able to
play for Gers
this term due
to registration
restrictions on
new signings.
But he said: “We need
to pressure Panama right
from the start and show
them we are desperate for
the three points.
“A win would put us one
step of the way to the
World Cup. Our home
games are vital.”
SHAUN THE RISE . . . Maloney
has been a massive positive for
boss Strachan in recent games
DEAN SHIELS has been
called up for Northern
Ireland’s World Cup
qualifier against minnows
Luxembourg tomorrow.
The Rangers ace, below,
has been drafted in by
boss Michael O’Neill after
losing a number of stars.
Northern Ireland crashed
4-2 to classy
Portugal on
Friday night
and had Chris
Brunt and ex-
Ibrox hitman
Kyle Lafferty
sent off.
The pair are suspended
for the Luxembourg game,
while O’Neill is sweating on
the fitness of Jamie Ward
and Shane Ferguson.
Both were substituted in
the second half against
Portugal at Windsor Park.
Aberdeen frontman Niall
McGinn is also nursing an
injury and is a doubt.
GORDON STRACHAN stands
one per cent away from
constructing a team that can
take us to Euro 2016.
Yet as he settles into the
build-up to tomorrow’s
clash with Macedonia,
Strach will know finding
that vital margin will be
the hardest task he faces
as Scotland boss.
While doing my UEFA B
licence coaching course this
week I had the pleasure of
listening to sports psychologist
Donald MacNaughton, below,
and one point he made really
resonated with me.
He said as you move up the
ladder in elite sport the
margins between success and
failure, progress and standing
still become smaller.
Strachan is finding out that
while the margins may be
smaller they are
more difficult
to negotiate.
At the very
highest level
you’re competing
against others
who have the same
skill set, be it technical,
tactical, physical or nowa-
days psychological.
It is about trying to find
the way to squeeze out the
extra one per cent that could
make all the difference.
Some of you may wonder
what has this got to do with
Strach and the national team?
In my eyes it has got every-
thing to do with them.
Quality
After the 2-0 defeat at the
hands of the brilliant Belgians
this is exactly the situation
the boss finds himself in.
How does he maximise every
tool available to him in his
quest to get the country back
to a major tournament?
International football
is the elite level of the
sport, and for too long
now we have not been
even coming close to
competing at this level.
Last Friday saw us
up against arguably the
best that Europe has to
offer and we were far
from outplayed.
The manager hit the
nail on the head when
saying he had five or
six players who put in
stellar performances.
In Russell Martin and
Grant Hanley he has
two unglamorous guys
who he has shown
great faith in.
The duo played up against
Christian Benteke who has
been terrorising defences in
the Premier League for over a
year now, and more than held
their own.
Hanley’s only mistake
against the Belgians was
brutally exploited by
Everton’s Kevin Mirallas
to kill Scotland off.
I felt that in midfield
Charlie Mulgrew’s shift
could not have done
anything other than
bring a smile to the
coaching staff’s faces.
He broke up play and
got on the ball, he started
attacks time after time,
throughout the game he
showed great composure in
tight situations.
His Celtic team-mate Scott
Brown gave the side some
much needed drive from the
middle of the park. The other
player Strachan must surely
have been thinking of when
waxing lyrical about perfor-
mances, is Shaun Maloney.
He continues to go from
strength to strength. Now
being deployed in his favour-
ite position just in behind the
striker, Maloney can drop into
midfield giving defensive sup-
port when needed.
He can then step forward
providing penetration and the
ability to unlock opposition
defences.
There were positives to take
from the game — but when
you state that it leaves you
wondering if it was so good
how come we still lost 2-0?
We got into some great
positions in the final third,
but could not find that quality
cross or pass to get the open-
ing we craved.
The team has a real depth
of talent in the wide areas,
but we don’t have anyone
with blistering pace.
James Forrest is the quickest,
but he could not get any
change out of the impressive
Jan Vertonghen.
On the other side Robert
Snodgrass is never going to
drop his shoulder and show
a clean pair of heels to the
full-back, but he does have a
fantastic football brain.
The lack of impact from
Forrest and Snodgrass meant
we did not get the penetration
in the wide areas.
That would have enabled
Leigh Griffiths to come into
his own, getting in behind the
Belgian defence.
When Strachan, below, first
took over the reins he had to
close the alarming gulf between
us and the other countries we
were playing against.
His first task was to get us
back to the stage where we
could at least hold our heads
up high, proud in the fact we
are not a million miles away
from them.
He has successfully done
this, but now the real chall-
enge begins.
Tomorrow night’s game in
Skopje offers us another great
opportunity to show how that
gap has been closed, and how
we can look at these games
confidently enough to think
we truly can win.
We’ve made huge progress
and come a long way in a
short space of time from the
dark days of previous years.
Now it’s that extra one per
cent that needs to be found to
continue the momentum.
By MARTIN BLACKBURN
CRAIG BELLAMY says there are no plans
to build a statue of Gareth Bale in Cardiff
— just yet.
But the veteran Wales striker hopes his
country will make the most of being home
to the world’s most expensive footballer.
Real Madrid’s new £86million Galactico is
hoping to play some part for the Dragons when
they tackle Serbia in a World Cup qualifier
tomorrow night.
Wales got a taste of what lies in store for
them in future as they had to beef up security
around their hotel in Macedonia this week.
And there were sighs of relief all round
when two fans who ran on to the pitch in
Skopje at half-time in Friday night’s match
wanted to hug Bale rather than attack him.
Yet ex-Celt Bellamy — once the biggest star
in Welsh football himself — believes it is some-
thing the country must embrace and try to
make the most of.
The former Liverpool ace said: “It’s new for
us. We have had Ryan Giggs, don’t get me
wrong, but this is a little bit different.
“It’s a fantastic time for us to market our
country and tell everyone about the good
things we have.
“It’s not every day that
you can boast the world’s
most expensive player as
one of yours. As a squad
we’ll try to look after him.
“He’s a great lad. I’m not
saying they will erect a
statue of him in Cardiff
straightaway but we are
learning as we go.
“It’s brilliant because of
the recognition our nation
will get.”
Wales bowed out of
contention for the World
Cup at the weekend but
Bellamy, 34, believes Bale, 24, will play in a
major championships.
The Cardiff firebrand, who has 75 caps, also
hinted he may hang up his boots at the end of
the season.
When asked if he had one last qualifying
campaign in him, Bellamy said: “I don’t think
that’s going to be possible. I don’t.
“I really want this group to succeed. But
don’t forget, it’s a two-year period to qualify.
“If I start the next campaign, I would be
robbing someone else of two matches, four
matches . . . vital experience. That’s the way I’m
looking at it.
“My mood does change, I could change what
I’m thinking. But the way I’m feeling now, it
could be my last season in football. I have so
much to look forward to after football.”
Bellamy’s domestic situation is also an issue
following a recent marriage break-up, and he
wants to spend as much time as possible with
his three children.
He added: “I’m a single parent now and
I’m having such a battle to see my kids
on a daily basis.
“Then, being away for 10 days on Wales
duty, it’s so hard.”
MARCLONGS
FOR CHANGEMARC WILSON has
urged the Republic of
Ireland to abandon the
long-ball approach in
a desperate bid to
revive their World Cup
qualifying campaign.
Giovanni Trapattoni’s
side launched an aerial
blitz against Sweden
on Friday but lost 2-1.
And Stoke full-back
Wilson said: “We need
to play through the
middle a bit more and
pass the ball to create
good chances.”
When suggested to
Wilson that the long
ball did not help, he
said: “No, it doesn’t.
“Plus, there are new
faces coming in every
day and we haven’t
had time as a group.
“But it’s still no
excuse. The other night
wasn’t good enough.”
Crocked
Lustig’s a
Kaz been
By JOHN SHIELDS
Aussies’
start plea
for Rogic
Peralta: I
will knock
my Pan in
SWEDE ’N SOUR . . . Ibrahimovic beats Wilson
Lux in as
Dean gets
a cap call
AT HEART OF
HIS NATION . . .
Gareth Bale is now
Wales’ main man
DONE . . . Bellamy
4 Monday, September 9, 2013