SCOTLAND boss George Burley is delighted that Darren Fletcher is fit for Wednesday nights World Cup crunch against Norway – despite the Manchester United ace ignoring his pleas to skip yesterdays Community Shield final against Chelsea.
Burley had called on Fletcher to take it easy in the run up to this weeks crucial Group 9 qualifier fearing that injury could rob Scotland of their prized midfield asset. However, the 25 year-old opted to play in yesterdays 4-1 penalty shoot-out defeat in the hope of securing a place in United’s starting line up for next weeks league opener.
Fletcher, who has been a mainstay in the National team but featured infrequently for United, insists that he wants to play for his country but that he must also do whatever is necessary to secure more football at club level.
He said: “The Scotland manager obviously asked me about not playing but I want to play as many games as I can.
“I’ve got to try and win a place in the United team and there is a lot of competition around the squad. I don’t want to be skipping United games but I was always going to be available for Scotland. That was always going to be the case. There was never any doubt. But I’ve also got to concentrate on my club career and they both go hand in hand.”
Meanwhile, Norway Coach Egil Olsen has revealed that his side will either play a 4-4-2 or a 4-5-1 formation on Wednesday night.
Olsen took Norway to the 1998 Finals in France using the long ball approach and believes that similar tactics could rattle the Scots. However he acknowledges that his side, which have yet to win a qualifier, face a tough battle against a Scotland side chasing that coveted play off place.
He said: “I have picked a squad that can play either 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 against Scotland. We must be prepared for everything because this is a tough game and it’s one we have to win.
“My team will only have time for one full training session but my squad consists mostly of familiar names so they know what to do.
“For us the key thing is to get delivery into our big strikers. Scotland will defend deep so we wont get much space in behind.”
