Players deserve credit for their achievements, says McLeish

SCOTLAND manager Alex McLeish insists his players deserve all the praise they are getting for pushing the World Cup finalists all the way in their Euro 2008 qualifying section.

His team go into the game against Group B leaders France in Paris tonight one point behind Raymond Domenech’s men but one point ahead of third-placed Italy after a 3-1 win over Lithuania at Hampden Park on Saturday.

There is now fanciful talk of Scotland making the finals of a major tournament for the first time since the 1998 World Cup in France.