Vogts wants McFadden to create spark for Scotland

Whatever qualities Berti Vogts may lack on the training pitch or in the dug-out, the courage of his convictions is not one of them. That much was clear from the story of his retirement as an international player, which the German told yesterday because of the part played by Austria, who face his Scotland side in a friendly tonight.

The setting was Argentina in 1978, the occasion a World Cup "derby" poised at 2-2. Hans Krankl, who will be in charge of the Austrians at Hampden Park, had already scored twice when West Germany's Sepp Maier spilled a cross which rebounded off Vogts' knee and into his own net for the winner. "I'm a big hero in Vienna," the Scotland manager quipped. "I started a huge party there."

Vogts' actions after the match say much about the single-mindedness and lack of sentimentality that still typify the man now preparing his adopted country to take on the nation of his birth in a Euro 2004 qualifier here on 7 June. Reasoning that, at 32, he had done his bit, "Der Terrier" immediately quit international football, unperturbed by the fact that he was bowing out four caps short of a century.

Scots recall that summer for the embarrassments by Peru and Iran, but also for the fabulous, if futile, victory over the great Dutch team. The dribbling skills which brought Archie Gemmill a memorable goal have largely been lost to the Scottish game, yet Vogts believes he may have found a player to reassert them in James McFadden.

The Motherwell striker, a target for Everton and Preston, makes his first start for Scotland with orders to run at defenders. According to Vogts, the 20-year-old's trickery should produce set-pieces in dangerous positions and even penalties. "We need someone to win more free-kicks. When we played Lithuania, they were going over all the time. We won only one or two, and they were in midfield rather than the 18-yard area.

"We work hard practising free-kicks, but for what? We might as well go out on the golf course. We need someone to do what [John] Hartson did for Celtic against Rangers on Sunday. He more or less said to the defender: 'Come on, take me'. James can do that."

The opposition and venue were chosen as a dress rehearsal for Germany, although Scotland will field more understudies than they would hope to send out against Rudi Völler's men. Barry Ferguson's absence sees Craig Burley return in an attacking midfield role for his first cap since the last game of the Craig Brown era in 2001. Andy Webster, the 21-year-old Hearts defender, makes his debut to become the 47th player used byVogts in 15 months.

Paul Devlin will start, with Christian Dailly deployed in midfield to cover his foraging. Paul Lambert's withdrawal and Ferguson's indisposition mean that Dailly regains the captaincy.

Krankl, like his old adversary, brings a youthful team with only two experienced performers in Markus Schopp and Andreas Herzog, the latter's 102 caps making him almost as great an Austrian hero as Vogts.

SCOTLAND (3-4-1-2): Gallacher (Dundee United); Webster, Pressley (both Hearts), Wilkie (Dundee); Devlin (Birmingham), Burley (Derby), Dailly (West Ham), Naysmith (Everton); Hutchison (West Ham); McFadden (Motherwell), Thompson (Rangers).

AUSTRIA (probable: 4-4-1-1): Mandl (Austria Memphis); Scharner (Austria Memphis), Stranzl (TSV Munich 1860), Ehmann (Liebherr GAK Graz), Pogatetz (Aarau); Schopp (Brescia), Aufhauser (GAK Graz), Flogel (Austria Memphis), Kirchler (Wustenrot Salzburg); Herzog (Rapid Vienna); Haas (Sturm Graz).