FRIENDLY BY name they may be, but international challenge matches have not been very kind to George Burley. Thirteen games into his job as Scotland manager, he has not won any of the five friendlies which have been scattered through his tenure. But,
having survived the countless calls to cull him at the end of the fruitless World Cup qualifying campaign, he is keen to get some morale-boosting wins before the work begins in earnest again next September.
He knows that the large-scale call-offs ahead of the most recent match in Japan means he was excused mass scrutiny but next weekend's match against Wales in Cardiff is where his talk of building on the spirit and performances shown in the qualifiers against Macedonia and Holland needs to be replaced by tangible evidence on the field of play.
"We're looking to build, to get stronger and to work as a team," he said. With the Scottish co-efficient dependent on these results, as well as his own record, he said there was no likelihood of him ever taking friendlies lightly. "They are important games, they are not bounce games. You're trying to get progression in the quality and the way you play. At club level you get 60 games. At international level you might only get six in a season."
As well as the Wales game and the meeting with the Czech Republic at Hampden on 3 March, further dates have been set aside in May and August, although the opposition has yet to be confirmed. The purpose is to let Burley piece together his best XI and allow them to grow as a group before they head into the 2012 European Championship qualifiers. Likely to be pitched into the third pot of seeds when the draw is made in Warsaw on 7 February, Burley knows that there will be quality ahead of them, but feels that the more matches the squad get together the better prepared they will be.
Out go the old guard of David Weir, Paul Hartley and Graham Alexander, although he insists they would all be willing to come in and do a job for their country if called on, and in come the likes of Graham Dorrans, Don Cowie and Lee Wallace. All three convinced during the last friendly, in Yokohama, and Burley is enthused by the competition for places the likes of Wallace and Danny Fox offer. Two newcomers but they instantly bolster the squad at left-back.
And others are also being trailed. The Andrew Driver situation has still to be resolved, while others such as Jody Morris and George Boyd are being observed. "We've had (Boyd] watched a few times and he played in the B international in the summer. He's a cultured player, good left foot and he is certainly on the radar – he's scored a number of goals for Peterborough this season. But we have a lot of competition in that area of the side. There are players on the radar but the players who came in for Japan showed they could do a job so you have five or six there who are desperate to get into that 23. It shows you the squad is getting bigger and more competitive."
But change won't be sweeping unless another swathe of call-offs demands it. While some have advocated chopping and changing to give experience to newcomers and patient understudies alike, Burley is more intent on finding a winning solution than appeasing bruised egos.
"We're trying to get a squad together that is as strong as possible. We've only got four games before the Euros and we want to get the nucleus of a team together. We can take the opportunity of taking a look at people, we can get young players together. We had four or five making their debuts in Japan but generally we want continuity, we want a squad together to win games and go forward."
He knows that David Marshall was reportedly upset at having travelled to Japan and not featuring but Burley pulls no punches. "David Marshall played two of the three games before it because Craig Gordon was injured. It wasn't the case that he hadn't had a game. I wanted to win the game in Japan and Craig Gordon is my first choice. David Marshall is my second choice. There will be circumstances when I give David Marshall games or experience but in general Craig Gordon is my first-choice keeper. As far as people being upset about not playing – I understand that. I went to the World Cup and didn't kick a ball but it was still one of the highlights of my career."
If the goalkeeping situation is clear cut, so too, it seems, is the centre-back pairing. Darren Barr has dropped out the squad, while Christophe Berra and Steven Caldwell will have to accept being the back-up men. "I've decided on this occasion Gary (Caldwell] and Stephen McManus are the pairing. They play together at club level so they are in possession of the shirts at the moment." The outings together at club level have dried up slightly, where their status as regular starters has also been undermined by Tony Mowbray's willingness to rotate his defensive players to accommodate Glen Loovens, but Burley still feels they have the best understanding. "We've got four good centre halves there. Darren Barr can count himself unfortunate. He's been in every squad. I've looked at games, I saw Steven Caldwell against Wigan two or three weeks ago. He's captain of Burnley in the Premiership, desperate to play for his country. But (Gary and Stephen] are still playing, still cracking players. Both of them played in Japan and played well so they are the ones in possession."
Burley certainly seems to have a firm idea on who features in his strongest XI but it's ensuring as many as possible of them turn up that could decide whether he finally gets his first friendly win.
