WITHOUT wishing to tempt fate, this week is one of those rare times when a Scotland manager can look forward to a match in which all his principal strikers are fit and in good form.
Steven Fletcher scored for Burnley last Saturday, Kevin Kyle has been called up after a run of impressive performances for Kilmarnock, Kenny Miller is in ebullient mood after celebrating the birth of his daughter last Saturday, and Derek Riordan has
recovered from a foot injury sustained during a domestic mishap with his dog.
Click here to enter our Wales v Scotland predictor It all makes for a happy headache for George Burley when it comes to selecting the team – and some tough competition for Steven Naismith as he bids to hold on to his place in the side. Naismith made his first start for Scotland against the Netherlands in the last World Cup qualifier, and although the night ended disappointingly, with the national side failing to qualify for the play-offs, the Rangers striker described the game as one of the high points of his career so far. Having previously only played eight minutes against the Faroe Islands, he hopes he did enough in the 1-0 defeat by the Dutch to give him another run out against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.
"It was definitely one of the best moments of my football career," the 23-year-old said. "I totally didn't expect it. It was a great opportunity for me and hopefully I've done well enough to show the manager that he can trust me in big games in international football."
Not only did the call-up to the squad come as a surprise to Naismith, so too did his selection in the starting line-up. When he met the press at the team hotel in the build-up to that match, he spoke only of cheering on his colleagues from the main stand at Hampden, having clearly believed he was not going to be given any more active role.
He knows he is far from guaranteed a place this time, especially with James McFadden possibly being earmarked for a place up front. The Birmingham player is officially listed as a midfielder, but Burley spoke earlier this week about experimenting with him in a new, more pivotal position. That could mean a more advanced, central role than McFadden is accustomed to, in which case the five listed strikers will be competing for only one place.
In any event, whatever is done with McFadden, Naismith is well aware of how much competition he faces. "There is a lot of competition for places, without a doubt," he agreed.
"Steven Fletcher did well at the weekend and you've also got the experienced boys like Kenny Miller, who is probably the most experienced forward in the squad. You've also got guys like James McFadden. So there is definitely tough competition, but all the boys here will believe they are good enough to play. It's just whoever the manager chooses.
"You just have to go along with it and take your chance. It's the same when you are first coming through.
"If the manager plays you out of position, you just do it as well as you can and show the manager what you've got. Again, it was a case of getting on the pitch and doing well, and I thought for the majority of the game we did really well and were unfortunate the result didn't go our way."
If it had gone their way Scotland could be elsewhere this weekend, competing in the first of the two-leg play-offs rather than taking part in a one-off friendly against the Welsh.
Still, with only a handful of international dates on the calendar before the qualifying tournament for the 2012 European Championships begins late next year, Naismith and his colleagues have to make every match count if they are to persuade Burley they merit inclusion in his longer-term plans.
Kyle revealed on Tuesday that his notion of making every match count included the use of simulation if it were to help Scotland end their exile from major tournaments which is now into its second decade. Naismith, by contrast, said he would find it difficult to resort to diving himself and argued that such behaviour was foreign to the Scottish game.
"There is a fine line between diving and some tackles flying in where, if you don't jump, you are going to get a serious injury," he said. "Sometimes it's down to the way it's perceived. It is a tough call for any referee, I suppose.
"I don't think I would do it. Because of the Scottish mentality, there are not many Scots who go about diving. I don't think it's a big thing in our game.
"Sometimes when we go away in Europe, other teams take advantage of it and they get fouls that we would probably say weren't fouls. But, as I say, it's just not in the Scottish mentality to do it."
It is not in Kyle's nature either, according to the Kilmarnock striker. But, when asked about the issue, he said he had to be honest and admit he would do something which is tantamount to dishonesty if it helped Scotland get a result.
"A lot has been made of diving, and, to be honest, I don't know how to do it because I'm just not that kind of person," he said. "But if it meant my team getting an advantage and a penalty? I would probably take that opportunity.
"I'm not going to lie, as I'm an honest kind of person. I probably would, because you go out on a Saturday afternoon just wanting your team to win at any cost, and you take every opportunity that's available to you.
"Yes, you will get criticised and hounded by the press. In fact you'd get slaughtered for doing it. But the only thing that matters is your team getting a victory."
