CROATIA manager Slaven Bilic has warned Scotland his side will be going flat out to claim another British scalp in tonight's friendly at Hampden.
The Scotland squad has been decimated by seven withdrawals, including five Old Firm players.
Bilic has lost star striker Eduardo to the injury he suffered on Arsenal duty last month, but he has recalled Ivan Klasnic and Igor Budan to his squad as
Croatia play their final friendly before Euro 2008.
The former Everton and West Ham defender played down the impact the withdrawals will make to new Scotland manager George Burley's first team selection, and believes the hosts will be formidable opponents.
"It is a big blow for any national side to lose seven players and that goes for Scotland as well," Bilic said. "But I don't think we are facing a lesser test because they have enough quality players to play at the highest level.
"The players that will play are maybe not the big names but they will be full of motivation. They have a new manager so it is going to be a very big test for us, and it's the reason why we chose to play Scotland.
"We obviously didn't choose it because of the weather, we chose it because of the great national team that Scotland have and they proved it in the Euro qualifiers. We have no time for a lot of experiments.
"We will approach the game as if it is a competitive game for points. It is a catch-22 situation for us. We only had two games before May, one was in February (against Holland) and this is our last game.
"On one hand you have to put out your best side because we haven't played together for a long period. On the other hand you have to use every opportunity to try something new so we have to find a balance. But it is likely that we are going to start with our strongest side.
"It is our first game without Eduardo which is a new situation for us and it is the first game that we have two of our players back from long-term injury, Ivan Klasnic and Igor Budan.
"So we are going to try to do everything in 90 minutes but also, not forgetting about the result, that is also important."
Croatia's profile on the world stage has increased following their dramatic 3-2 win at Wembley which knocked England out of the European Championships at the qualifying stage.
But Bilic is happier for his side to remain as far off the international radar as possible.
He said: "We have had respect, especially since we beat England at Wembley, and so we are not looking for any more. But we are never going to be respected as a big nation because we are not a big nation. We have beaten England, Germany, Italy and Argentina but we are not a mighty country who can beat England ten times. So we like to stay as underdogs because the whole world appreciates your victories more."
Meanwhile Croatia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa is hoping to make it third time lucky in Glasgow tonight. The Spartak Moscow player's last visit to Scotland was in the second leg of the Champions League third qualifying round against Celtic in August when the Scots reached the group stages on penalties following two 1-1 draws.
Previously, Pletikosa had played in a World Cup qualifier against the Scots at Hampden in 2001 which ended goalless. The former Hadjuk Split keeper is glad to be back in Glasgow but he admits he is looking for revenge for the Champions League setback at the hands of Celtic.
"I hope so," he said. "But it was a great game against Celtic. I also played at Hampden in a qualification game for the World Cup in Japan and Korea and it ended up 0-0. I enjoyed that as well and I just hope the atmosphere at Hampden will be like the two times I have played in Glasgow before.
"It will be a tough game but it will prepare us for the European Championship this summer in Austria and Switzerland."
Pletikosa believes Celtic's progression to the last 16 of the Champions League, where they were eventually beaten by Barcelona, is just one of several reasons why Scottish football has regained its respect in the eyes of the football world.
He said: "I looked at the (Celtic) results, Rangers are also doing well in the UEFA Cup and Scotland's results in the Euro 2008 qualification games raises the country's status in European football."
The full article contains 784 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
