Scots will get wired in for Dutch

SCOTLAND striker Stevie Crawford has promised the Tartan Army that he and his team-mates will “get wired in” to the footballing aristocrats of Holland.

Former Rangers manager Dick Advocaat will bring a squad brimming with talent back to Scotland for the first instalment of the double header that will decide who goes to Portugal next summer for the Euro 2004 finals.

He can call upon players from Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Manchester United while Berti Vogts, looks to Dundee and Dunfermline for some of his selections.

Crawford, who is keen to mark his 17th cap with his fifth goal, insisted the superstar reputations of the Dutch were not his main concern. “It’s a draw we would probably like to have avoided but, although technically Holland are one of the best sides in the world and we will go in as underdogs, the only pressure we will be under is the pressure the manager puts on us.

“You can’t ignore the quality that they have got but you can’t go into the game fearing that. If you do then there is only going to be one outcome. We can’t worry about Holland too much. We have got to go in with the Scottish spirit and get “wired in”. The spirit we have got in the squad in the moment is good so we will all go for it.”

The Dunfermline striker will soon be 30 and is aware that time is not on the side of many of the squad should they miss out this time. “There are a few of us who are at an age where we would love to qualify for a major championship.

The chance to play in a major tournament is something a few of us do not want to give up too easily. It’s not a fear that, if we don’t qualify, Berti will turn to someone younger but realistically that could happen. The Scots were dealt a blow yesterday when Crawford’s former Raith team-mate, Wolves midfielder Colin Cameron, was sent back to England.

The 31-year-old is suffering from a groin problem and will take part in neither Saturday’s game nor the return in Holland next week. His absence could open the door for Motherwell’s Stephen Pearson to mark his elevation from the Under-21s Darren Fletcher, the Manchester United teenager who came off the bench last month to fire the only goal against Lithuania, is also a candidate for a first start.

The Dutch camp is reportedly riddled with unrest, with a fall-out between Advocaat and Ruud van Nistelrooy the main talking point.

Crawford said: “What I see of van Nistelrooy week in week out in the Premiership and European level he frightening. We have heard he is maybe not going to be starting but that’s the choice Dick Advocaat has got to make.