Burns wants 'one night' special

The last time Tommy Burns was in charge of his own team, at Reading in the 1990s, the crowd were chanting his name long before the final whistle. "Burns must go" will not be reprised should Scotland succumb to Sweden in tonight's friendly in Edinburgh, but nor, according to Berti Vogts' caretaker successor, should an emphatic victory firm up the case for him to become the permanent manager.

The last time Tommy Burns was in charge of his own team, at Reading in the 1990s, the crowd were chanting his name long before the final whistle. "Burns must go" will not be reprised should Scotland succumb to Sweden in tonight's friendly in Edinburgh, but nor, according to Berti Vogts' caretaker successor, should an emphatic victory firm up the case for him to become the permanent manager.

Tomorrow, officials of the Scottish Football Association will discuss the vacancy with Walter Smith, the former Rangers and Everton manager. While Burns has the opportunity to audition for the role at Easter Road, he believes that appointing himself, or anyone, on the strength of one win would be "shallow" thinking at a time when the SFA faces an "almighty decision".

Burns, a devout Catholic, quickly amended the latter adjective to "monumental". Vogts' ex-deputy does not have the luxury of being as careful with his selection as his words. Three more players, including the captain, Barry Ferguson, dropped out because of injury yesterday, forcing him to consider the case for handing the armband to Jackie McNamara, a player he signed for Celtic.

"One of my better buys," Burns said of McNamara. "In his younger days he was like the Charge of the Light Brigade the way he abandoned the back. Nowadays he's your archetypal modern player, who can operate wide on either flank, at full-back, central defence or midfield, where he'll play against Sweden. When you look at how he was at 21 and see him again 10 years on, he's a totally different player."

Ferguson's absence should give Darren Fletcher the opportunity to be the heartbeat of the side. Since his previous appearance at Hibernian, when he scored an exhilarating goal against Trinidad & Tobago, the Manchester United midfielder's form had stagnated. However, Burns was heartened to see him "at the hub of things" in Sunday's defeat of Newcastle.

The loss of Gary Holt and Gary Caldwell yesterday prompted a call to the uncapped Motherwell left-back Stevie Hammill. Kevin McNaughton, discarded early in Vogts' reign, will start against a Swedish side lacking Henrik Larsson, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Freddie Ljungberg. Burns promised organisation and spirit. "It's exciting to be my own man again," he said, "if only for one night."

Scotland (4-4-1-1; probable): Marshall (Celtic); McNaughton (Aberdeen), Webster (Hearts), Anderson (Aberdeen), Murray (Hibernian); Fletcher (Manchester United), McNanmara (Celtic), Quashie (Portsmouth), Severin (Aberdeen) or Pearson (Celtic); McFadden (Everton); Miller (Wolves).