Vogts sings hard-running Dickov’s praises

SCOTLAND manager Berti Vogts has revealed that the surprise recall of international rookie Paul Dickov had been specifically designed to unsettle Holland’s most capped player of all-time.

The Leicester striker had played for his country on just five previous occasions before he was handed the task of taking on Frank de Boer, whose 107 caps make him the most experienced Dutch international ever.

The 33-year-old has been a mainstay of a talented Dutch side for past 13 years, but is now winding down an illustrious club career in Turkey, prompting Vogts to decide he was now a weak link who could be exploited.

The former Manchester City striker put in a trademark shift full of running and aggression, which helped the Scots to a 1-0 first-leg lead in the Euro 2004 play-off clash that will be decided in Amsterdam on Wednesday night.

Vogts explained: "Three years ago, for one week, I was in Manchester watching the training, and defenders do not like players like Dickov.

"De Boer also had trouble with James McFadden, who was always looking for a one-against-one situation.

"I told the boys 'hey, don't play long balls to Jaap Stam, play long balls to the other side'. The goal came from the right side, and there were some good performances and chances from that side. Always, it was the right side.

"I watched Dickov in a lot of matches, and he has scored five or six goals in the Premier League this season. He is always very cheeky."

Stam is now suspended for the second leg, along with Scotland's Christian Dailly, after he was booked for a first-half foul on McFadden, with the Everton man having already fired in the only goal of the game.

Ironically, De Boer had a part in that by deflecting it over his goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.

The Scots now find themselves 90 minutes away from a place in the finals, an event that could scarcely be imagined when the campaign kicked off in September last year when Vogts's first competitive match in charge saw his side go 2-0 down in the Faroe Islands before coming back to scrape a draw.

Vogts said: "It is different now. After that, we changed a lot of players and changed the system, and now we have a team. It is not a national team this team is a club team, and that is great."

Holland manager Dick Advocaat found himself facing some hostile critics from his homeland after the final whistle.

However, he insisted that his superstar players should be shouldering the brunt of the blame.

He said: "I still think, with the chances we had in the second half, we should have scored with the quality players we have. But we didn't. Is that a matter of the wrong players or the wrong coaching or whatever?"

Advocaat had promised he would resign if the Dutch did not make the finals, but was confident his going away speech could still be delayed for a few months.

He said: "I still hope Holland will come through. This team are capable of beating the Scots. But I have to be fair, Scotland played the first-half quite well."

Barcelona's Michael Reiziger is set to replace Stam at the back but Vogts must decide on who can best take Dailly's midfield holding role from a pool of picks limited by the absence of Colin Cameron through injury.