Ferguson and McGregor could face axe

BARRY Ferguson and Allan McGregor could be high-profile absentees at Scotland's death-or-glory World Cup qualifier against Iceland at Hampden Park tonight.

National team manager George Burley was coy on all aspects of selection yesterday, but did nothing to quell mounting speculation that McGregor would make way for Craig Gordon in goal. This was in marked contrast to last week's early pronouncement that McGregor would face the Netherlands in Amsterdam last Saturday.

The dropping of Ferguson, Scotland's captain, is not so clear-cut but there were suggestions from within the camp that the Rangers midfielder may have fallen from favour. It would take a huge gamble on Burley's part to drop the captain, who had a very quiet match against the Dutch, but Ferguson was conspicuous by his absence at yesterday's pre-match briefing. The pre-match briefing normally involves the manager and the captain, and the media arrangements issued by the SFA to the press stated clearly that these were the two individuals who would be present. However, Burley was not joined by Ferguson as he faced the media, but by Gary Caldwell in an unscheduled change of personnel.

Burley has praised Ferguson highly in recent weeks, and it would take a serious change of heart to leave the player out at this stage.

Although the national team manager basically stonewalled all questions about his likely starting line-up on the eve of a match which must be won to maintain any hope of finishing runners-up in Group 9, there were unmistakable signs of his intention to effect changes that could leave some members of his squad at least sullen, perhaps even enraged.

The first hint that Burley may upset one or two players came when he refused even to discuss the possibility that Gordon will be reinstated as first-choice goalkeeper at the expense of McGregor.

Since the 3-0 defeat by the Netherlands on Saturday, there has been intense speculation over the position, some media reports claiming that the Rangers man would be replaced by the Sunderland and former Hearts goalkeeper as a consequence of his performance in Amsterdam.

There was similar debate last week, which Burley himself chose to end by announcing three days before the Dutch match that McGregor would play, largely because his rival had not appeared in his club's first team since November.

In that latter respect, nothing has changed, but, in deflecting questions on the issue, Burley refused even to comment on McGregor's exhibition in the Netherlands. If the manager prefers Gordon on this occasion, it may be interpreted as a slight on the former.

Burley has insisted since he took the job 14 months ago that Gordon is his No 1 and, in that respect, McGregor could be said to have no grounds for dissent if he is left on the bench. But the circumstances (Gordon's lack of practice has not changed since last week) may cause him a certain resentment. However, Burley would not be drawn on the background to his selection for tonight's match.

The possibility that other established names, including captain Ferguson and striker Kenny Miller, could also be dropped seemed to be reinforced by Burley's reluctance to give anything away and the force of his insistence that the Iceland match calls for "big decisions" from which he will not shrink.

"There are lots of areas to be looked at," said Burley, "and the team will not be finalised until tomorrow, when I'll tell the players. I'll choose the team I think is right for my country, the one I think can win the match.

"And the decisions will be mine alone. They will not be influenced by anyone else, or any other external factors. I have to be positive, nothing negative and I can't and won't worry about it.

"The present situation is similar to the one in Iceland last year, when we played them on the back of the defeat in Macedonia. Decisions had to be made then, too, and we won in Reykjavik . If you win, it's fine and if you don't, you get criticism.

"This entire exercise is about winning the match, not worrying about selections. I'll pick the team I think is right and the players are all good, professional people. If they are not picked, they'll take it in the right manner."

Burley himself, having won only one of eight matches since he succeeded Alex McLeish, will clearly come under personal pressure in the event of failure.

He admitted that not beating Iceland would make qualification "very difficult", but seemed unworried by his own position if the worst happens.

"I don't feel it's win-or-bust for me," he said. "I've been making decisions as a manager for 17 years and I'll continue to do that. It's an honour to be the Scotland manager and I'll be manager as long as my country wants me."

In an enforced change, defender Graham Alexander will be missing tonight with a hamstring injury, opening the door to Alan Hutton to make his first start at first-team level in five months.

Defender Stephen McManus, who missed Saturday's defeat in Amsterdam with an ankle injury, has trained for the past two days and could start, but it looks likely that Cristophe Berra will retain his place.

Wolves striker Chris Iwelumo also shook off a minor thigh strain to take part in yesterday's training session in Dumbarton.