EVEN at the age of 26, with 14 caps, the captaincy of Scotland and the endorsement of manager George Burley as an automatic pick, Stephen McManus will enter the torrid heat of the City Stadium in Skopje this afternoon with the wide-eyed exhilaration of a kid on the verge of a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The big Celtic defender confirmed yesterday that this was no fanciful dramatisation of his emotions, as he revealed that he approaches every international as though it will be his last.
It is an attitude that puts his commitment to the cause a
bove suspicion.
McManus's enthusiasm for a match that promises to be gruelling is rooted in his childhood memories of previous World Cups, his addiction to the thrill of wearing the dark blue shirt so powerful that it overcomes even the lingering pain of last Sunday's 4-2 defeat by Rangers in the first Old Firm match of the season.
"When you're away with Scotland that's all that matters and you forget about what's happened with your club," said McManus on arrival in Macedonia yesterday.
"It's going to be a tough game and we know it's going to be very, very hot. It's unusual for us to be playing in these sort of conditions – a lot of us don't tan very well!
"But I've been to a few hot places. I played in Hong Kong quite a few times in the summer, it was a seven-a-side tournament.
"It wasn't a full-sized pitch and we were only playing for 14 minutes so 90 minutes is going to be tough but we know these are the conditions we have to get used to at international level.
"We played against the Czech Republic in the summer and that was really hot as well.
"But we're playing for our country so it doesn't matter if we're playing in the heat or if there's snow on the ground you just get on with it.
"It's special for me to be the skipper and wear the armband and the strip. You never know what's round the corner, every game you play could be your last so you want to make the most of it.
"The World Cup is what you dream of when you first start out. The first one I remember was Italia 90. It's where the best players in the world play and if you're part of that it's a highlight for any player.
"We haven't been there since 1998 so it would be great if we could get back to it.
"It's like the Champions League. You never ever doubt your own ability, but you do wonder before you experience it if you can play at that level.
"When you watch it, you ask yourself, 'Are you brave enough? Are you strong enough? Technically, are you good enough?' When you get there and do it, it gives you a lot of belief.
"As a nation we took a lot from the last qualifying campaign in Europe. If we had been asked to play Brazil, we would have fancied ourselves against them.
"Everyone was on a high and that was the sort of belief we had. But we don't want to get too carried away with ourselves at international level, especially away from home.
"Every nation fancies itself at home. It's going to be a really hard game and we'll be very happy to get anything out of it."
The full article contains 585 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
