HAVING celebrated his 30th birthday at the weekend, Scotland captain Barry Ferguson's thoughts are being drawn to his mortality as an international footballer.
While hanging up his boots should remain a fairly distant prospect for a player who is now arguably at the peak of his capabilities, Ferguson believes the World Cup qualifying campaign, which will begin later this year, will be his last.
The Range
rs midfielder, who made his international debut three months after Scotland last appeared in a major finals at the 1998 World Cup in France, was part of the unsuccessful attempts to book a place in the 2002 and 2006 events as the country has endured a painful exile from the greatest tournament of them all.
Ferguson will be 32 when the 2010 finals take place in South Africa and while he feels he could also stay a part of the Scotland set-up for the subsequent 2012 European Championship campaign, he does not envisage a future in dark blue beyond then.
"I probably have another two championship campaigns in me," said Ferguson. "The World Cup is obviously the one you want most as a player, so I think this next one will be my last chance. I'm desperate to reach the finals of a European Championship as well, but the World Cup is the one I want to lead my country into. As I say, I think I've got two more shots at getting to a finals and I'll be giving it everything I've got."
His Rangers team-mate, David Weir, is still in the Scotland squad at the age of 37, a year older than Ferguson will be when the 2014 World Cup takes place in Brazil, but he cannot imagine he will match the veteran central defender's longevity.
"Big Davie's done well to stick around at this level," said Ferguson, "but I don't think I'll still be playing for Scotland at that age. In any case, he doesn't have to run about as much as I do. It's much easier for defenders."
Ferguson this week started life under his fifth Scotland manager as George Burley met the squad for the first time at a national team gathering on the banks of Loch Lomond.
Gratifyingly for the Rangers captain, he was immediately informed by Burley that he would retain the armband for the national team and he has been impressed by the enthusiasm and ambition of the new man.
"When I arrived at the hotel on Sunday, George pulled me aside and we had a chat for five minutes or so," said Ferguson. "He told me that I would continue to be the captain. That means a lot to me, although it hadn't really crossed my mind that I wouldn't still be captain.
"I had seen that Fabio Capello was thinking about changing England's captain, which any new manager can do, but the first thing George said to me was that he wanted me to carry on and I was delighted.
"It's the beginning of a new era with a new manager, but, as players, we've dealt with that regularly in the last few years. George came across really well when I spoke to him, as he has done every time I've listened to him on TV or on the radio.
"Any time I've spoken to anyone who has worked with him, the response has always been positive. Christian Dailly, who has just joined Rangers, played under him at Southampton this season and he says George is a very good manager.
"George made it clear that our aim has to be to qualify for the next World Cup finals and that's fine by me. Our last campaign is in the past now and that game against Italy at Hampden seems a long time ago, but it was so disappointing not to make the Euro 2008 finals because I was so confident we could do it.
"People are now looking for us to go one step further and make it to the finals, but I'm confident that we can do that. When you look at our World Cup qualifying group, Holland are probably the favourites, but we fancy our chances against anyone at Hampden."
Ferguson believes Burley will find himself under more critical scrutiny than either of his two most recent predecessors in the job with Scotland having blazed a trail up the FIFA world rankings following the misery of Berti Vogts' tenure.
"George is probably under more pressure than either Walter Smith or Alex McLeish were when they took the Scotland job," said Ferguson. "They both took us forward and now expectations have been raised to a new level.
"The gaffer mentioned at our first meeting on Sunday that the World Cup campaign effectively begins in our friendly against Croatia at Hampden next month.
"He said that he could maybe make one or two changes and all managers have different ways of playing in terms of formation. We'll possibly have three or four games before the qualifying ties begin so I think you'll see a few new systems."
Ferguson earned his 44th cap against Italy in November and should reach the half century in the course of the next campaign to book his place in the SFA's Hall of Fame.
"I should have reached that total before now," he admitted, "but injuries have played a part. It's definitely something I'm desperate to do and it would rank as another achievement in my career."
The full article contains 920 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
