Old Firm rivals Miller and Caldwell unite ahead of Scotland's World Cup qualifier and say disciplined approach can help them upset the odds

INTERNATIONAL football makes team-mates of rivals, even those whose differences at club level are heated enough to cause little wars and fill accident and emergency departments.

For Gary Caldwell and Kenny Miller, fresh from the pleasure and pain of the Co-operative Insurance Cup final and with the SPL engagement still to be settled, the common cause is Scotland's looming World Cup Group 9 qualifier against the Netherlands in Amsterdam, a mission that promises the severest test of morale and comradeship.

Indeed, both the Rangers striker and the Celtic defender concede that the Scots are no match for the Dutch in the matter of virtuosity and that their best hope of a positive result in the Amsterdam Arena at the end of next week resides in the national team's collective will, industry and resolute defending.

Miller was involved in the 6-0 panning the dark blue shirts had to endure on the last occasion the fixture was played, in the Euro 2004 play-off five-and-a-half years ago.

Having won 1-0 in the first leg at Hampden Park on that Saturday in November 2003, Berti Vogts's side were roasted just four days later, Miller coming on as a second-half substitute with the score already at 4-0.

"You can be sure we'll be approaching the game differently this time," said Miller yesterday, at an event at Wester Cleddens Primary School in Bishopbriggs, organised by Setanta and Nationwide, the official partner of the Scotland team.

"You'll remember that we beat them in the home leg the last time? Well, we went over there and tried to play them the same way again. I'm certain it will not be the same approach this time."

Caldwell's connection to the black night was purely vicarious, his brother and fellow defender, Steven, having been an unused substitute. He was, however, not only involved in the Euro 2008 qualifying victories over France which demonstrate what is possible, but scored the winning goal in the Hampden win over the 2006 World Cup finalists.

An incurably candid realist, though, Caldwell regards those memorable achievements as an irrelevance, insisting that the present Netherlands team under Bert van Marwijk, ranked third in the world, will be more formidable than the French side managed by Raymond Domenech. "When we played France," said Caldwell, "there's no doubt they were an ageing team, with players who had won the world and European championships and who were definitely showing signs of wear and tear. I think we got them at a good time.

"This Dutch team are younger, stronger and quicker and I expect the way they play will make them harder to contain than the French. They have three attacking midfielders behind a lone striker and they are all very quick. It's difficult to handle if you don't have the pace to match them.

"What we'll have to do is be very tight and very disciplined, staying close and cutting out space. If we split, those midfielders will be charging through the gap. So they'll be a lot different from the French in that respect.

"The results we got against France showed what is possible in football, but they shouldn't be taken as a guide to our chances against Holland.

"For the same reason, the 6-0 defeat all those years ago can't be allowed to have a bearing on what happens this time. It was a long time ago, we are different teams, with different players and different managers. We can't dwell on what happened back then."

Caldwell's realistic appraisal should not be mistaken for pessimism or even desperation, but his observation that the Scots "will have to put our strengths to good use" raises the question of precisely what assets George Burley's squad possess.

"We have resilience, willingness to work hard and a very strong team spirit," said Caldwell. "And those are the things we're going to need. When we do it right, I'm sure we're very hard to play against. I also think our quality has improved in the past couple of years, and we are better with the ball than before. We're going to have to make good use of possession when we have it.

"But I think there's no doubt that our priority will be to deny them space, basically stop them hitting their stride and producing their best form. Looking at the Dutch now, I do believe we're going to have to be as good as, but probably even better than, we were against France the night we won in Paris."